Beyblade Metal Heroes Season 1: Darkness Transcends
by Infinity Wizard
Summary: "Darkness doesn't die. It just evolves." It's been two years since Nemesis fell and the world found peace. Now, the WBBA have opened beyblade academies to train the next generation bladers. But the awakening of chaos and order has created a war, where a young boy connected to an ancient past and power must face Nemesis' Heir with everything he knows and loves at stake. PLEASE R&R!
1. Chapter 1: The letter

**Beyblade Metal Heroes: Season 1-Darkness Transcends**

**Hello everyone! I'm deciding to do an OC story because I've never tried one before. Anyway, the OC form is at the end of this chapter. Please read and review. Also, this story takes place in-between Metal Fury and Shogun Steel. It acts as sort of a bridge between the two series. Something was bound to happen in-between right? I don't own beyblade but I do own my OC's and this storyline.**

**Warning: Rated T for high violence and swearing. This is a very dark toned story compared to the anime once we move further into the story.**

**NOTE: The chapters will get better as they go on as my writing improved as I wrote it. GREATLY! Max really borders close to being a Gary-Sue right at the start but becomes more grounded as the story goes so don't get to bogged down because the story get's really good once you get to some of the newer chapters. **

**PLEASE READ AND MAKE SURE TO REVIEW WHEN YOU'RE DONE! And to catch your attention, check out the trailer.**

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><p><strong><span>This summer.<span>**

_Cue suspenseful music._

The starry sky is suddenly filled with fire and a meteor comes down and shoots off into the distance.

_"Soon, everything will change."_

**A new battle is here.**

The meteor from before crashes down onto sand and explodes.

**A new evil is here.**

From the fire of the meteor emerges an explosion of dark energy with blood red eyes.

_"Soon, everyone is going to know what true suffering is."_

**A new age is upon us.**

A boy with brown hair wearing a red jacket and black jeans looks out into the distance to see only destroyed buildings and fire.

**A new hero will rise.**

A group of kids, silhouetted, emerge from the fire at a building. The one at the front holds up his hand and it glows red in an omega shape.

_"They will all scream for mercy."_

**A new war will be waged.**

Shots of a mystical gold realm and shots of a dark purple realm are shown.

Two cloaked people with triquetra glowing scars stand at one side of a bey arena.

**A new destiny is at hand.**

The boy with brown hair from before steps up to a bey arena and readies his bey. As he launches, he declares "Let It Rip!"

**New beys.**

_Cue action music (Duel of the Fates)._

A red and a black bey clash in an arena before creating an explosion.

A red armored knight appears and slashes at a fox.

A phoenix composed of fire rises into the air and shrieks.

Two beys spring from launchers and clash mid-air.

_"Many will fall. Many will die."_

**New heroes.**

The boy with brown hair shouts, "Let's heat this up Swordsman!" He throws his hand into the air and a red armored knight bursts from his bey.

A girl with shoulder length black hair emerges from a black cocoon with red armor on. She cries, "Believe in yourself and you will always win!" From her bey appears a golden brown lioness with a pendant with a ruby jewel in it.

Another girl appears, this one with red hair. She exclaims, "Show them who's boss!" as a phoenix bursts out of her bey.

This time a new boy appears, one with silver hair, standing with two spirits. He declares, "Burn them up Gryphos!" as a griffon/dragon hybrid appears in the air and roars.

_"Those who resist will suffer for eternity."_

**New enemies.**

A blue angelic man holding a staff with two snakes coiled around it flies through the air before growing demonic features.

A bey battle is suddenly surrounded by a shadow dome.

A dark figure laughs malevolently as a purple bolt of lightning bursts from his bey.

A girl with silver blond hair is surrounded by jade green energy and a serpent like creature appears in front of her and hisses.

**New powers.**

The boy with brown hair generates an orb of red energy and throws it at something unseen.

Two girls battle, one in red armor and one in black armor. Both have swords and are in an intense sword fight.

An explosion of black energy causes a building to crumble.

A wall bursts open with blue energy and kids inside the classroom scream as the ceiling collapses and the windows shatter.

_"The dawn of evil is here."_

**There's action.**

A stream of fire shoots up into the air.

A light in a bey arena blinds the crowd.

The red knight and the blue angle clash with their weapons, a sword and a staff.

A dark blizzard blows around the arena, causing destruction.

A tempest of winds surrounds an arena, blowing everyone back.

**Suspense.**

A king falls to the ground, a sword sticking out of his back.

The boy with brown hair launches himself through a window.

An assortment of soldiers and knights stand ready for battle.

The top of a tower breaks off and falls towards a group of screaming people.

A couple of kids leapt across a ledge as the building they were just standing on explodes.

Two beys clash with full power, sending sparks flying in all directions.

_"Soon the world will be ushered into darkness."_

**Destruction.**

An entire castle crumbles to the ground.

A classroom explodes.

A couple of kids, screaming, are sucked into a giant tornado.

A group of bladers turn around to face a giant spider.

A hallway is flooded by tones of water.

**This time, they'll need everything they can get to win.**

"We stand as one," says the brown haired boy as he and a group of bladers put their hands together.

A line of beys spins towards an unknown object.

A demonic shadow beast lunges towards a bey and a boy.

"We are cancelling the apocalypse!" declares the voice of a spirit.

The brown haired boy holds up a sword with an army of kids behind him.

**The Prince of Fire.**

The brown haired boy runs on top of a building with his bey spirit, the Red Knight at his side.

"I'll fight till the last breath leaves my body!" he cries as his bey explodes into flames and launches itself towards an opposing bey.

**The Goddess of Light.**

The girl with black hair from before falls downwards with her bey flying next to her.

"Believe in yourself and you will always win!" she exclaims as the Lioness roars at an opponent.

**The Spirit Caller.**

The boy with silver hair is on his knees, injured and stares at an opponent with fiery eyes.

"I'll never stop fighting!" he declares as his bey, while on fire like a supernova shoots downwards.

**The Fire Breeder.**

The second girl from earlier fights against a powerful wind with a phoenix at her side.

"Let's raise the bar shall we!" she shouts as her bey speeds forward while on fire.

**And the Queen of Ice.**

Another girl wearing a black dress and standing with a white alicorn in an ice field is shown.

"It's now or never!" she cries as the alicorn unleashes a blue energy stream from its wings.

**The thrilling sequel to Metal Fury.**

The boy with brown hair throws his hand out as he is surrounded by a red aura.

A bey smashes into another bey from above, creating an explosion.

_"Evil is upon us. The end is near."_

**And the epic prequel to Shogun Steel.**

The crowd watches a battle in suspense.

A scorpion spirit and a wolf spirit clash with each other.

A vortex of fire surrounds a battle and creates a blast.

Some kids run from explosions with many falling down and screaming.

_"It's here. It's time for…"_

A giant explosion appears before everything immediately becomes black and silent.

_"…Darkness to transcend."_

_Cue epic music._

**Beyblade Metal Heroes**

**Season 1: Darkness Transcends.**

From the sky shoots down a red supernova/meteorite.

**"Darkness doesn't die. It just evolves."**

**_Out now! A new epic beyblade tale begins. For more info go to the profile of Siderisn or read on._**

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><p><strong>Prologue:<strong>

_Once, before there was light, before there was darkness, before there was order, before there was chaos, before existence itself lay nothing but a mystical embodiment. The Creator. Eventually, the Creator created the plane of existence that the world and everything evolved from. However, in order to maintain the perfect world and the perfect balance, the Creator decided that only the balance could exist to sustain this. However, the first form of "life" was created, and in turn destroyed the perfect balance and began the time of the universe. Thus, creating light and darkness, and chaos and order._

_Many millions of years later, humans began using the power of order and chaos for themselves Creating the original Order-Chaos War where the two powers fought for control of the other. Eventually, the power was passed down from Father to Son and Mother to Daughter. Eventually, the war erupted into a final battle for control, where the two core powers were sealed away. Until now. The awakening of an age-old evil will bring them back and begin the war again. And this time, there is more at stake then ever before._

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><p><strong>Previously on Beyblade:<strong>

_Beyblade. The game that has gripped the entire world. Bladers battle it out with metal spinning tops using special moves and their experience to defeat their opponents. But not all wish to use these for good._

_The Dark Nebula headed by the twisted Doji steal the Forbidden Bey Lightning L-Drago and give it to Ryuga, apparently killig Ryo Hagane in the process. Ryo's son Gingka takes up the challenge to defeat the Dark Nebula and reclaim the Forbidden Bey. While on his journey, Gingka fights many battles and gains many friends, rivals and enemies. Despite a crushing defeat at the hands of Ryuga, Gingka fights his way to the top of the Battle Bladers tournament to face him in a furious final battle. Despite Ryuga's dark moves crippling Gingka's tactics, he uses the power of friendship to unleash Galaxy Nova and free Ryuga from L-Drago's dark power. However, at the cost of this was Gingka's precious bey Storm Pegasus._

_However, Gingka manages to discover the Legendary Bey Galaxy Pegasus and tame it, intending to continue his journey. After meeting blader Masamune, Gingka puts together Team Gan Gan Galaxy for the Wold Championship Tournament. Quickly, the team discover that there is more behind Team Star Breaker then they realize. Leading this team is Dr. Ziggaraut, who has created the Spiral Core, a weapon of mass destruction and intends to sell it to the highest bidder. However, Gingka and his friends manage to infiltrate Hades City and manage to stop Ziggaraut with the help of a redeemed Ryuga._

_Gingka's greatest challenge was just about to begin however. When the Star Fragments land on Earth, Gingka's bey is transformed into Cosmic Pegasus and Gingka must find the remaining legendary bladers to stop the malicious Nemesis. In a furious and epic final battle, Gingka faces the reborn evil and defeats it with the help of every other blader in the world, apparently vanquishing the darkness for good._

_But the darkness doesn't play fair. It doesn't stay down for long. It's never gone, it just evolves and get's stronger. And soon it will rise again, wanting revenge for its predecessor's downfall. But more then one new enemy awaits, all biding their time, waiting for the moment to strike._

_With the word of beyblading shattered after the Nemesis crisis, the WBBA had attempted to keep the game going and have opened numerous beyblade academies around the world in order to train the next grenration of bladers in case a new evil would to rise up. One of those academies, is the Beyblade Legends Academy._

_This is the story of a young blader who never realised how important he was. Who never realised how much power he held. Who never realised that the world rested on his shoulders. His name is Max Smith, and this is the beginning of his story._

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: The Letter<strong>

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><p>"Max! Max! Max! Max! Max! Max! Max! Max!" cheered the crowd.<p>

Max was in the final round of the bey tournament that would decide who the best blader in the world was.

"Attack now!" cried Max as his bey smashed his opponent's bey out of the arena, making him the Number 1 blader in the world.

"I did it!" cheered Max. "I'm the best in the world!"

"Max! Max! Max! Max! Max! Max! Max!" cheered the crowd.

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><p>"Max! Max! Max! Max! Max! Max! Max!" screamed Max's Mum right in Max's ear.<p>

Max's eyes burst opened and he quickly covered his ears.

"I'm up!" cried Max.

"Hurry up and get dressed young man," said his Mum as she went down stairs.

"I don't understand why Mum doesn't let me sleep in on weekends," whined Max to himself.

Max got out of bed and changed into a red jumper, white and black t-shirt, blue jeans and white sneakers. He went to the mirror and picked up a comb. He looked at how messy his light brown hair was and decided he could not be bothered combing it.

Max went downstairs and took out a bowl and filled it with cereal.

Max scooped some up and was about to eat when his Mum said, "Max, could you go get the mail."

"No I can't get the mail," replied Max.

"It wasn't a question, it was a demand," replied Max's Mum sternly.

Max sighed as he sat up and went to the door. He opened it and walked to the mailbox. He ever so slowly opened the lid and took out the letters.

He waked back inside and sat down. He began to sort through the letters.

"Bills, said Max. "Garbage. Party invitation for Mum. Garbage. Flyer. Garbage. Letter from the Beyblade Legends Academy. Garbage. Wait! That's not garbage!"

Max threw all of the other letters onto the table and ran up to his room while his Mum shouted at him. Max ignored her however. Once he got into his room he shut the door behind him and jumped onto the bed.

He took a deep breath before opening the letter.

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><p><em>To Mr. Max Smith,<em>

_We are glad to inform you that you have been chosen to be one of this years attendees at the Beyblade Legends Academy. As you may have already heard, the Beyblade Legends Academy's goal is to train the next generation of beyblade legends._

_We monitor bladers all around the world, and only the ones that we think that have potential of becoming a champion are accepted into our academy._

_We have been monitoring you for a while now and we believe you have the skills capable to be at our academy. You will also be attending with many other great bladers and we hope you have a comfortable stay._

_Your boat will be leaving in a week. We expect to see great things from you._

_Chancellor Jones of Beyblade Legends Academy._

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><p>Max must have read over the letter fifty times before jumping up and down in joy.<p>

"I can't wait until then!" cheered Max as he went to get ready.

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><p><em>Unknown Location-<em>

The full moon rested in the night sky, bringing light to the Earth. Surrounding it were dozens of beautiful sparkling stars. Standing at the window and looking at the majestic Moon was a figure. In hand was a glass of red wine, he sipped it a bit before placing it down on the desk behind him. On the desk was a file with names of the latest and best rookie bladers all over the world. Next to them were ticks that showed whether or not they would be attending the Beyblade Legends Academy.

"Soon," chuckled the figure. "Soon the pieces shall come together. And the Dark Lord shall rise and cloud the world in eternal darkness."

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><p><strong>Okay, so that's it for the first chapter. More in the next chapter! And now for the OC form.<strong>

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><p><span><strong>Sorry, I am no longer accepting anymore OC's. I also apologize for not making this more obvious as I have had a few people still send me OC's.<strong>

**SORRY TO YOU ALL, BUT OC SUBMISSION FOR THIS SEASON IS CLOSED! BUT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SUBMIT YOUR OC'S FOR SEASON 2!... So stay tuned until then.**


	2. Chapter 2: Friends or Rivals?

**Hello again, for every one reading, I NEED MORE OCS! **

**Now that that's out of the way, I would like to say thank you to DazzlerAngel, Graceful Amaryllis and RedPhoenix10123780 for sending in OCs. You can send in more if you like. **

**OCs that will be used so far: **

**Sierra Crystals (DazzlerAngel) **

**Ninel Lucia Velasquez Bychkov (Graceful Amaryllis) **

**Blaze Markura (RedPhoenix10123780) **

**Now for the chapter: **

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Friends or rivals? <strong>

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><p>Max waved from the side of the cruise ship to his Mum. As the cruise left he continued to wave, cry and shout goodbye.<p>

Some of the kids looked at Max strangely and walked away.

Once the cruise was too far away from the pier for Max to see his Mum he quickly bolted to the buffet.

Max drooled as he saw all of the food in the 'All-You-Can-Eat' section.

Max took a plate and began creating a tower of food. Once again, some kids near by looked at Max strangely and walked off.

When Max was done he went to walk to a table. He saw a nice empty one in the corner and chose it.

When he was walking near a table with two girls sitting on it, he slipped on a small puddle of water, he apparently didn't see the 'wet floor' sign and he fell to the ground with a thump, while his plate flew into the air.

The two girls on the table laughed until Max's plate of food came down and landed on the first girls head.

Mashed potatoes, salad, cheese, shrimp, and a lot of other foods fell from the plate and splattered all over her face.

The second girl laughed but stopped when the first turned and gave her a death stare. She then stood up and walked over to Max who was lying on the ground.

The Girl wiped the food away and wacked him with the wooden spoon she was eating with.

"Ow!" screamed Max.

"Don't get food on people," said the Girl.

Max stood up, rubbing his head where the Girl had hit him. Max looked at the Girl and examined her. She was wearing a black leather jacket over a dark purple T that had a V-neck. Her jacket sleeves were rolled up to her elbows and she was also wearing a black mini skirt with black boots that reached her knees.

Max looked at the second Girl and examined her also. She was wearing a black sleeveless dress that reached her knees. She wore a silver version of the Butterfly Cage by Lei Sang Bong over the dress. She was wearing a pair of silver strapped platform sandals and had a silver snowflake pendant on as well as a pair of black fingerless gloves.

"Sorry," said Max with a big smile.

"That's okay," replied the Girl. "Sorry about your food."

"I can always go back for more," replied Max.

"Who are you?" asked the second Girl as she stood up.

"I'm this academies Number 1 Blader," declared Max.

"Impossible," replied the Girl.

"Excuse me," said Max.

"Its impossible that you're Number 1 because I'm Number 1," replied the Girl.

"I thought we established that I was Number 1," interrupted the second Girl.

"That was years ago," said the Girl sternly. "This time I'm going to win."

The second Girl just sniggered at the Girls' remark.

"Then I'll prove I'm the best," suggested Max. "Who will battle me?"

"I'll take you on and win," stated the Girl. "Let's go."

The three walked onto the deck were there was a bey arena.

Max stood on one side while the Girl stood on the other. The second Girl just stood to the side to watch.

"Allow me to introduce myself," said the Girl. "I am Sierra Crystals, but my friends call me Era. And this is my bey Thunder Angel, the ultimate attack type bey."

Sierra took out Thunder Angel and held it up. Max saw that the bey was mainly blue and appeared to have sharp edges. Printed on the face bolt was a pair of wings and the performance tip was made of rubber. Finally, the spin track was red and had three claws.

"Sweet bey," complemented Max. "Well my name is…"

"Uh excuse me," interrupted Sierra's friend. "But Sierra, aren't you going to introduce me?"

"Oh sorry," replied Sierra. "This is Ninel Lucia Velasquez Bychkov, my friend."

Max tried his best to pronounce her name but had no such luck.

"Don't worry," said Sierra. "It took me some time to remember her name as well."

"Okay then," replied Max. "I'm Max Smith. My friends call me the Prince of Fire, and this is my bey, Flame Swordsman."

Max held out his bey for Sierra and Ninel to see. It was mainly red and yellow and had a red energy ring that looked like a razor. It had an orange spin track and a yellow performance tip. The face bolt was yellow and had a sword with flames printed on it.

'Interesting bey,' thought Ninel to herself. 'It looks familiar.'

"All right Prince of Fire," said Sierra. "Watch as I make you blood run cold."

"I don't think so," replied Max. "This battles about to get a lot hotter."

The two readied their beys and prepared for battle.

"3!" cried Ninel.

"2!" added Sierra.

"1!" finished Max.

"Let it rip!"

Thunder Angel and Flame Swordsman spun into battle. The two beys circled the arena before Max decided to attack.

"Go now Flame Swordsman!" commanded Max.

Flame Swordsman charged towards Thunder Angel, but Sierra just smiled.

"Counterattack!" commanded Sierra.

Thunder Angel charged also and the two beys hit dead on. Suddenly Flame Swordsman was pushed back and Thunder Angel continued to attack it.

"Push harder!" cried Max.

But Flame Swordsman continued to be knocked around by Thunder Angel.

"So," said Ninel to herself. "Sierra is using the powerful strength of the ultimate attack bey to push Swordsman back. Her usual strategy, but if this guy is as good as he says then he should be able to counter in some way."

"This is not good," stated Max.

"See," said Sierra. "I am Number 1."

"This isn't over!" declared Max.

"Might as well be!" replied Sierra.

Thunder Angel charged and Max commanded his bey to dodge. Flame Swordsman did just that and the moved behind Thunder Angel and attacked.

Thunder Angel was pushed away from Flame Swordsman's attack.

"Hey!" snapped Sierra as she attacked again.

Once again, Flame Swordsman dodged the attack, moved behind and attacked Thunder Angel.

"I see," said Ninel. "Flame Swordsman is able to move quickly, and then by attacking from behind, the power Thunder Angel used for the charge is turned against it. Incredible strategy."

"How do you like that?" chuckled Max as Flame Swordsman attacked yet again.

"Not bad," complemented Sierra. "But I have more then one trick. Go! Thunder Angel! Special move! Lightning Assault!"

Lightning flashed in the sky and struck the arena. The lightning created cracks in the arena while Flame Swordsman attempted to dodge the lightning.

"You can't run," stated Sierra.

Finally, the lightning struck Max's bey and lost its balance.

"Dang it," said Max.

"Go now!" shouted Sierra.

Thunder Angel charged and smashed into Flame Swordsman, knocking it away and causing it to fall into a crack.

"Oh no!" panicked Max. "Flame Swordsman's caught in the crack!"

"So Sierra's using her special move to not only damage the opponent with lightning but also cause the bey to get trapped in a crack," said Ninel. "What will Max do to get out of this one?"

"Time to end this," commented Sierra and her bey began to circle the stadium at high speeds, building up power.

"Go now!" commanded Sierra.

Thunder Angel charged forward but Max just smiled.

"Go now!" cried Max as his bey spun faster. "Special move! Flame Sword Slash!"

Flame Swordsman covered itself in flames and a knight in red armour appeared. It was wielding a giant flaming sword and the knight was covered in flames.

As Thunder Angel charged, Flame Swordsman slashed at the opposing bey with a mighty force, sending Thunder Angel flying into the other side of the arena.

"Amazing," commented Ninel. "He countered with an a special move, and now the flames from the attack have spread through the cracks, trapping Thunder Angel."

Ninel was right, as the cracks now had fire coming from them, Thunder Angel was surrounded by fire.

"No way," said Sierra.

"Oh yes way," replied Max. "Now spin faster!"

Flame Swordsman spun faster and eventually created even more fire. The bey then shot up into the air and absorbed the fire from the cracks.

"Go again!" commanded Max. "Flame Sword Slash!"

Flame Swordsman launched downwards at Thunder Angel. The flaming knight appeared and swung its blade. Flame Swordsman smashed into Thunder Angel from above and there was an explosion of flames.

When the dust cleared, Thunder Angel was at Sierra's feet.

'That bey beast,' thought Ninel. 'I've seen it before somewhere. I know it.'

"Not bad," said Sierra as she picked up her bey.

"You're pretty good too," replied Max as his bey returned to him. "But it appears I'm Number 1."

"I wouldn't bet on it," interrupted Ninel.

"Huh?" said Max.

"She's right," said Sierra. "I wasn't using my full power in this match. I was just seeing your strength."

"Well I'll win next time," said Max.

Sierra smiled at Max's comment and the three walked back to the buffet.

'That bey beast,' thought Ninel. 'There was something strange about it. Something I couldn't quit put my finger on. Oh well. But this Max kid might just make this year at the academy an interesting one.'

Unbeknown to the three, a blader that was standing on the top deck had been watching the battle.

She was wearing a black tank top underneath a grey and white sleeveless hoodie. She also wore grey combat boots with one left hand half finger glove with bandages above and a chain bracelet on her right hand.

"The Prince of Fire huh," said the Girl with a smirk.

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><p><strong>To be continued: So, the 2<strong>**nd**** chapter had some action in it. And it appears Max, Sierra and Ninel will be friends. But we have one question on our minds:**

**Why does Ninel find Max's bey so familiar? And who was the person watching the battle? I know that's obvious but still. **

**Anyway, please read and review! And please send in more OCS! ****I NEED THEM!**


	3. Chapter 3: Playing with Fire

**Hello every one. I would just like to say thank you for all of those who reviewed and sent in OCs. I really appreciate it. Here's a list of OCs excepted so far and the dorm they're in. **

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><p><strong>Max Smith (Me! Siderisn)-Summer <strong>

**Sierra Crystals (DazzlerAngel)-Autumn **

**Ninel Lucia Velasquez Bychkov (Graceful Amaryllis)-Winter**

**Blaze Markura (RedPhoenix10123780)-Summer**

**Mana Valkov (Gingercookiessnaps)-Winter**

**Fang Kushina (Gin-Nee)-Saturn**

**Morgan Blue Robinson Abyss (GoldenAngel999)-Mars**

**Frieda Belvini Love (GoldenAngel999)-Spring **

**Carlos Zepeda Jones (GoldenAngel999)-Saturn**

**Grace Styles (DazzlerAngel)-Spring **

**Santina De Luca (Graceful Amaryllis)-Saturn **

**Mitzuki Uryuu (Darkus Phantom)-Mercury **

**Kiara Summers (Grace of Flame)-Summer**

**Jaden Grace (Grace of Flame)-Jupiter **

**Unmei (MarsTwilight)-Winter **

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><p><strong>So, I still need more OCs but for these specific dorms:<strong>

**Autumn-At least 2 more**

**Mercury-At least 2 more**

**Jupiter-At least 2 more**

**Mars- At least 2 more**

**Spring-At least 1 more**

**Venus-At least 3 more-None for this dorm so far! So send some in!**

**Right now, I only have 1 Autumn dorm blader, 1 Mercury blader, 1 Jupiter Blader and 1 Mars blader. So send some in for these. **

**I also have 2 bladers for Spring but need one more. And I need like 3 in Venus because no one has sent in a Venus Blader! **

**Anyway, now for the next chapter, Playing With Fire.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: Playing with Fire<strong>

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><p>The cruise boat docked at the island's pier. Max was stunned by the beauty of the island and how big it was. No to mention he was so impressed by the volcano on the other side of the island.<p>

As the kids were lead through the beautiful forest Max managed to find Sierra and Ninel in the crowd.

"Hey guys," said Max.

"Hi Max," replied Sierra.

Max then noticed someone standing next to Ninel. She was wearing an emerald green coloured mandarin halter top with a pair of royal blue coloured skinny jeans. On the jeans was a golden chained belt. She was wearing a pair of black thigh length riding boots that looked rather expensive. She also wore a pair of emerald coloured fingerless gloves, three gold bangles on her right wrist and had a golden moon crescent shaped necklace hanging from her neck.

"Who's this?" asked Max.

"This is my friend Santina De Luca," replied Ninel.

"Hi," said the Girl. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," said Max cheerfully. "My names Max Smith. I'm the Prince of Fire and I also beat Sierra."

"I wasn't trying my hardest remember," interrupted Sierra.

"I still won," replied Max.

As the four walked away, the Girl who had been watching them from before was hiding amongst the crowd and continued to watch them.

"Hey you," said a Girl.

Max, Ninel, Sierra and Santina turned to face a girl with silver blonde hair tied in a messy bun. She also had bangs that covered her jade green eyes. She had an athletic build and had pale skin.

She was wearing a baggy green shirt that went to her belly button. On the shirt was a silver skull and she also wore ripped black jeans, black fingerless gloves, silver chains and green and black vans.

"Yes," said Max.

"You're the Prince of Fire right?" said the Girl.

"Yeah," replied Max.

"I've heard about you," snorted the Girl. "Your supposed to be that super strong blader that supposedly is unbeatable. I thought you might be pretty cool but I guess I was wrong. You barely won that match against that weird girl, Era or whatever her name is."

"Hey!" butted in Sierra. "Don't insult me!"

"Ooooh," spat the Girl sarcastically. "I'm so scarred."

"Stop with the insults," snapped Max. "Its not like your better then her or something. I mean look at you, you looked like you crawled out from a junkyard."

Some people heard Max's insult, looked at the Girl, agreed and then laughed.

The Girl didn't react at all, but her eyes looked like they were about to kill Max just by starring at him.

"You don't want to be my enemy," warned the Girl. "Or this Academy will be your worst nightmare."

Max just sniggered and said, "Better then being a nightmare like you."

More people laughed and the Girl proceeded to walk away while saying, "Remember Prince of Fire, I will get you back for this. You will regret the day you crossed Jaden Grace."

"Okay Jade," chuckled Max, not knowing that Jaden hated anyone who called her that.

The Girl stopped walking and said, "What did you just call me?"

"Oh," said Max. "You don't like me calling you Jade? Well sorry Jade. I didn't mean to call you Jade. Oh I said Jade again, whoops. I've got to stop saying the word Jade, but it's so fun to say Jade. What do you think Jade? Jade, Jade. Hey Jade, I'm talking to you Jade."

Jaden took a deep breathe before quickly turning around and diving at Max. She then proceeded to claw at Max's face when a girl came out of nowhere and spear tackled Jade.

The two girls fell from Max and began tackling each other.

"You," spat Jade as she saw the Girl's face. The Girl had shoulder length black hair with red highlights tied up in a side ponytail. She had pure black eyes, a claw like scar on her left shoulder. She was wearing dark makeup and had a lion claw like necklace with a flame shaped ruby in it on.

She was wearing a red tank top over a black sleeveless unzipped hoodie, black ripped jeans, black combat boots, a black and red bey belt and a black fingerless glove on the right hand and a red leather bracelet.

"Back off," demanded the Girl.

"Kiara Summers," spat Jaden.

"Hello Jaden," replied Kiara.

The two got up and brushed themselves off before Jaden gave everyone the death stare and walked off.

"Sorry about that," said Kiara. "She can be really nasty sometimes."

"Thanks for helping me," said Max as he stood up.

"No problem," replied Kiara. "Just watch out for Jaden, she likes to get back at people."

"I'll keep that in mind," said Max.

* * *

><p>Max was waiting in the Summer Dorm's courtyard. All of the bladers were yet to be allowed in their dorm rooms. The entire luggage had to first be placed in the proper rooms and for the rooms themselves to be set up properly.<p>

Max tapped his foot impatiently.

"Hey you!" shouted a girl as she ran through the courtyard. Max turned to see that she was chasing after a girl that appeared to have stolen her bey.

"Kiara?" said Max.

Max looked at the Girl Kiara was chasing and studied her. She was none other then the person that had been watching Max on the cruise.

The Girl taunted Kiara and as they ran through the courtyard.

Eventually Max stepped in and blocked the path of the Girl. The Girl stopped as well as Kiara.

"What's going on?" asked Max.

"She stole my bey," replied Kiara.

"I did no such thing," commented the Girl innocently.

"You're holding my bey right now," snapped Kiara.

"This?" said the Girl as she pointed to the bey clutched in her hand. "How did this get here?"

"Enough!" snapped Kiara as she quickly snatched the bey from the Girl's hand and went to punch her.

"Wait a minute," interrupted Max as he stepped in between the two girls. "Violence doesn't solve anything."

"I know," replied Kiara. "But it's going to solve the puzzle of her ugly face."

"Ugly!" snapped the Girl. "You are calling me ugly."

Max stood his ground and did his best to keep the girls from ripping each other apart.

"Stop it," demanded Max.

"Never!" screamed the two girls.

Max sighed as he stepped away, set his bey in his launcher and cried, "Let it rip!"

Max's bey rocketed through the air before slamming into the Girl and throwing her back. The bey then turned and slammed into Kiara knocking her over also.

"Hey!" shouted the Girls as they stood up.

"You had to stop fighting," said Max as Flame Swordsman returned to his hand.

"Now why did you steal her bey thief?" asked Max to the Girl.

"The name's Blaze Markaru," said the Girl. "And I only stole her bey so you'd step in because I've been wanting to battle you."

"Okay," replied Max. "Why didn't you just ask me for a battle?"

"Where's the fun in it," said Blaze. "Besides I would have given it back eventually."

"Weirdo," cursed Kiara under her breathe.

"I head that," snapped Blaze.

"Why are you going to so much trouble just to battle me?" asked Max.

"Because I've always been compared to you," replied Blaze. "Where I come from, I am the best. Despite that, everyone would say that I would never be the best because I could never beat you, the Prince of Fire. So when I was accepted to this academy, I decided to prove them that I am the best. I was lucky that you had also been accepted here, so now I can prove that I'm better then you."

Blaze looked at Max when he didn't answer.

"Hello," said Blaze.

"Hm," replied Max. "Sorry, I kind of zoned out. What were you saying? All I head was because I have always been compared."

Blaze's eyes twitched and she screamed at Max.

"I can't believe you're the one who they said was better then me!" screamed Blaze. "I challenge you to a bey battle!"

"Why should I?" questioned Max as he crossed his arms.

"Because if you don't I'll make you!" screamed Blaze and Max jumped in fear.

"Okay," mumbled Max.

"Good," replied Blaze.

The two walked to the main arena in the courtyard, catching the attention of the other Summer Dorm students who were bored just waiting around. On the inside of the arena were the mascots for the Summer Dorm. A yellow centaur: Sagittario and a red dragon: L-Drago.

Max stood on one end, Blaze on the other while Kiara watched in the crowd.

"Prepare to fall prey to my bey Armoured Phoenix," declared Blaze as she held out her bey for everyone to see.

It had a red fusion wheel with sharp metal curves that look like iron wings, a small black performance tip, a clear red energy ring and a red spin track with smooth sides.

"I will burn you to ashes," declared Blaze.

"Well see about that," said Max as he and Blaze readied their beys.

"3!" cried Blaze.

"2!" added Max.

"1!" finished the crowd.

"Let it rip!"

Armoured Phoenix and Flame Swordsman spun into the arena.

Max quickly noticed that Blaze's bey wasn't spinning the same as his.

"Hey what's going on?" asked Max.

"Don't you know?" asked Blaze with a smirk. "My bey is a left rotating one. I've even taught it to spin to the right.

"No way," commented Max.

'A dual rotating bey,' thought Kiara. 'Interesting. It can spin to both sides, although I doubt it could be just as good spinning right. It doesn't matter; my dual rotating bey was designed for left and right rotation. When I battle her, I will get her back. But how will Max deal with her.'

"So what," said Max. "Okay, maybe it spins to the left but it doesn't make that much of a difference. Right?"

"You'll see," replied Blaze.

Phoenix and Swordsman circled the arena before Phoenix moved to the center of the arena and stood still.

"Huh?" questioned Max. "You were talking about beating me yet you move to the center of the arena? A straight up defense tactic?"

"It's called strategy," replied Blaze as she crossed her arms.

"Okay then," said Max. "Flame Swordsman attack!"

Max's bey did just that and it charged towards Phoenix. Swordsman smashed into Phoenix and knocked it back. Surprisingly, Phoenix took the blow and moved back into the center of the arena.

"Huh?" questioned Max.

Blaze just smiled in reply.

'What is she doing?' thought Kiara.

'Okay,' thought Max. 'She's obviously wants me to attack. And I know I should stay away, but where's the fun in that?'

"Here I come!" declared Max. "Go Flame Swordsman!"

Flame Swordsman did just that and charged towards Phoenix and crashed into it.

Once again, Phoenix moved back into the center while Flame Swordsman continued to attack it.

After a few minutes of the same thing happening over and over again, Blaze finally decided to make her move.

"Attack now Phoenix!" commanded Blaze.

Her bey shot forward and smashed into Swordsman, throwing it back.

"Attack!" cried Max.

"Hit him again!" exclaimed Blaze.

The two beys clashed, but Phoenix dominated completely and was pushing Swordsman back.

"What's going on?" asked Max. "Phoenix is definitely a defense bey, so why is it able to beat Swordsman?"

"Because you wasted so much energy at the start by attacking," replied Blaze. "While my bey still has most of its power left."

"Uh oh," said Max.

"Time to end this!" declared Blaze. "Phoenix! Special move! Fire Tornado!"

A tornado composed of fire appeared and it swirled towards Swordsman.

"Run!" shouted Max.

Flame Swordsman sped away from the tornado but it was just to fast. The tornado came upon the bey and began to burn it.

"Nuts," was the only thing Max could say.

"Can't take the heat huh," said Blaze. "Well, to bad. Your bey will eventually have a sleep out as this rate."

'She's right,' thought Max. 'But what can I do. I can't run, so maybe I can…'

"Now!" cried Max as his bey moved towards the edge of the arena.

"What are you doing?" asked Blaze.

Fame Swordsman sped to the other side of the arena while the tornado followed it.

"Soar into the sky!" commanded Max.

Swordsman reached the edge of the arena and the tornado came upon it yet again. The power from the tornado however sent Swordsman flying up the edge and into the air.

'He's going to use an aerial attack to counter the tornado,' thought Kiara impressed.

"I've seen this move!" interrupted Blaze. "You used it to defeat Sierra! But it won't work against me! Special move! Immortal Flame!"

A bright light shot into the air above Flame Swordsman and exploded.

Max cried out as his bey was thrown back into the arena with a sickening crunch.

Blaze declared she had won, but when the dust cleared, Flame Swordsman continued to spin.

"How?" asked Blaze in shock.

"Haven't figured it out yet?" said Max. "Did you forget that this is a battle between fire beys? Fighting fire with fire. And when two of the same thing fight its always a close battle. Remember, Flame Swordsman uses flames in battle meaning a fire-based attack can't hurt it that much. My bey wasn't as injured as you thought when it was hit with Fire Tornado. Allowing me to survive your second move."

"You still can't win thought," replied Blaze.

"I wouldn't bet on it," added Max. "Your bey would have used a lot of its power materializing a tornado of fire and then creating an explosion. Your bey would be tired. Giving me one chance to win. My bey still has enough energy to use a special move of my own."

"Darn it," cursed Blaze.

"You play with fire and you'll get burnt," stated Max. "Now go Flame Swordsman!"

Flame Swordsman circled the arena super fast and covered itself with flames.

"Let's try this again!" exclaimed Max. "Special move! Flame Sword Slash!"

A red armoured knight wielding a flaming sword appeared and charged at Phoenix. Blaze didn't know what to say when the flaming knight slashed at her bey with a mighty force, creating an explosion of flames and knocking her bey out of the arena.

Blaze was speechless and the crowd cheered for Max.

Blaze picked up her bey when Max came up to her.

"Nice battle," said Max as he held his hand out. "You really had me sweeting."

"You were pretty good yourself," replied Blaze as she shook Max's hand.

"Let's battle again some time," suggested Max. "Without the whole grudge thing."

"Yeah," replied Blaze as she walked off.

"This will be one interesting year indeed," commented Max.

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued: <strong>

**Than you, for all of those who reviewed. I managed to introduce 3 new characters in this chapter and properly introduce another, Blaze. **

**I will try my best to introduce as many characters as I can in the next chapter. **

**Until then, I need more OC's for those certain dorms, so send them in and please review! **


	4. Chapter 4: Double Trouble

**Hello once again. Hope you all enjoyed the last chapter. Thanks to all who reviewed Now, this is the update of excepted OCs.**

* * *

><p><strong>Max Smith (Me! Siderisn)-Summer <strong>

**Sierra Crystals (DazzlerAngel)-Autumn **

**Ninel Lucia Velasquez Bychkov (Graceful Amaryllis)-Winter**

**Blaze Markura (RedPhoenix10123780)-Summer**

**Mana Valkov (Gingercookiessnaps)-Winter**

**Fang Kushina (Gin-Nee)-Saturn**

**Morgan Blue Robinson Abyss (GoldenAngel999)-Mars**

**Frieda Belvini Love (GoldenAngel999)-Spring **

**Carlos Zepeda Jones (GoldenAngel999)-Saturn**

**Grace Styles (DazzlerAngel)-Spring **

**Santina De Luca (Graceful Amaryllis)-Saturn **

**Mitzuki Uryuu (Darkus Phantom)-Mercury **

**Kiara Summers (Grace of Flame)-Summer**

**Jaden Grace (Grace of Flame)-Jupiter **

**Unmei (MarsTwilight)-Mars **

**Linh Tuan (Graceful Amaryllis)-Venus**

**Skyliner Walker (Skyliner Walker Hacama)-Mercury**

**Aiya (Bristeclaw)-Venus **

**Taylor Prince (Grace of Flame)-Venus**

**Luke Portadonnez (Grave of Flames)-Jupiter **

**Okay, so now I still need some OCs for these-**

* * *

><p><strong>Autumn-At least 2 more OCs<strong>

**Mercury-At least 1 more OC**

**Jupiter-At least 1 more OC**

**Mars- At least 1 more OC**

**Spring-At least 1 more OC **

**Winter-At least 1 more OC **

**Please send some in! I would also like a few more male OCs but it doesn't mean you have to send in a male one. **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4: Double Trouble<strong>

Max sped towards class like a bullet.

"I can't believe I slept in on the first day!" panicked Max. "I'm going to be totally late! And my first class is a Skills Lesson!"

Max quickly ran to the gym doors and stopped. He took a deep breathe before slowly opening the doors.

**Squeak!**

Apparently the door needed to be oiled.

The entire class turned their heads towards the noise and heaps of eyes were suddenly locked on Max.

"Um," muttered Max. "Sorry I'm late."

Sierra chuckled quietly, Blaze just shook her head and Jaden was sniggering evilly.

* * *

><p>Max watched as battles broke out throughout the gym. He had to sit out because he was late.<p>

Max looked around to see if he could watch an interesting battle, but most were basic ones and weren't really heated.

Suddenly the teacher in charge of the lesson, Mr. Meaner came up to Max.

"Max," said Meaner.

"Yes Mr. Meaner," replied Max. "For arriving late to this lesson I am not only going to not let you be apart of it, but I'm also giving you detention for the next week."

"Detention for a week!" panicked Max. "Come on!"

"However," added Meaner. "I am going to give you a chance to battle your way out of this."

"Thank god," said Max in relief. "So who's my opponent?"

"Did too!" snapped a Girl, catching the attention of Meaner and Max.

She was wearing a purple T with a black rose in the middle. Over this, she wore a black leather jacket with the sleeves rolled up and she also wore black tight pants and brown combat boots.

"Grace Styles," interrupted Meaner. "How many times have I told you not to get into arguments that end up getting heard by those on the other side of the school?"

"But she called me Ace," snapped Grace.

"Sorry Ace," replied the Girl Grace had been arguing with, Jaden. Grace hated it when people called her Ace.

Meaner sighed and said, "You need to be taught a lesson. So you and Mr. Late over there will be battling in a tag team match to stay out of detention."

"What!" cried Grace.

"A tag team match?" questioned Max.

"Yes," replied Meaner. "Attention class! We will all stop battling for and watch a special match!"

All of the students stopped battling and crowded around the main bey stadium in the gym.

Max and Grace stood at one end while two boys were at the other.

"Allow me to introduce your opponents," said Meaner.

Two boys appeared from the crowd and walked to the opposite end of the arena.

The first boy was wearing a scarlet tank top with the words 'Come At Me Bro' under a black mini jacket. He also wore black ripped shorts with a brown belt and red flip-flops.

The second boy was wearing a white tank top with a plain light blue t-shirt. He also wore blue denim shorts, blue toms, black fingerless gloves and a black belt to keep his bey in.

"Morgan Blue Robinson Abyss," introduced Meaner pointing at the first boy. "And Carlos Zepeda Jones."

Meaner pointed to the second boy.

'These two are excellent in tag team battles, mainly because they are experienced in these kind of matches,' thought Meaner. 'They should prove a good challenge for Grace and Max.'

"Let's do this," declared Max as he readied this bey. "I can beat both of you with one hand tied behind my back."

"I could beat them with my eyes closed," declared Grace. "I don't even need a partner to win. You will fall to my bey Evil Virgo."

Grace held out her bey, Evil Virgo for everyone to see.

It was black in colour and appeared to have sharp edges. Printed on the Face Bolt was a girl with long hair, its performance tip was made of rubber and the spin track was purple and had four claws.

"This is my bey," said Morgan as he held out his bey, Dark Flame Scorpio.

The beys face bolt was black and had a claw printed on it. The energy ring is red and the fusion wheel is dark silver and is rock like in appearance. The performance tip is red and semi flat.

"And this is mine," said Carlos as he held up his bey, Thermal Wolf.

The beys face bolt is a blue grey colour and has the wolf head printed on it. Its energy ring is grey and the fusion wheel is white. The spin track has large claws sticking out and is black. The performance tip is also silver.

"Ready Bro?" asked Morgan as he readied his bey.

"Ready Dude," replied Carlos as he readied his bey also.

"3!" cried the crowd.

"2!" added Morgan and Carlos.

"1!" finished Max and Grace.

"Let it rip!"

The four beys spun into the arena and Max quickly went on the offensive.

"Attack Flame Swordsman!" commanded Max and his bey charged at Scorpio.

Scorpio however, dodged the attack.

"Chill dude," said Morgan. "The match only just started."

"Yeah man," added Carlos. "Don't end something this fun so soon."

"Enough!" butted in Grace. "Attack Virgo!"

Virgo charged forward but Wolf dodged also and she and Max both attacked with their beys. Both of the attacks were dodged however.

"Come on," whined Max.

"That's it," stated Grace. "Special move! Flame Attack!"

Virgo surrounded itself in purple aura and the field was suddenly set ablaze.

The fire began to burn Wolf, Scorpio and Swordsman.

"Hey!" snapped Max. "I'm on your team!"

"I don't need your help," replied Grace stubbornly.

"Ready?" asked Morgan.

"Yep," replied Carlos.

"Special move!" declared Morgan. "Flaring Claw!"

Scorpio suddenly vanished and then reappeared on the other side of the field.

Grace watched as Scorpio rapidly attacked her bey's spin track. The attacks knocked Virgo away, stopping the fire attack and the flames vanished.

"Hey!" cried Grace.

"Time to step in," declared Max. "Special move! Flame Sword Slash!"

A flaming red knight appeared and swung its sword at Scorpio.

"My turn!" interrupted Carlos. "Wolf! Special move! Blazing Bite Attack!"

A grey large wolf with a silver blue aura appeared and charged at the red knight. The wolf bit the knight arms, knocking the knights attack off course and protecting Scorpio. At the same time Wolf smashed into Swordsman's spin track, knocking it away.

"What!" cried Max.

'Team work is something that must be used in a tag team battle,' thought Meaner. 'And right now, Max and Grace will lose unless they work together.'

"I'll move onto the defensive then," stated Grace. "Special move! Flame Shield!"

A shield of fire appeared around Virgo, protecting it.

"Let's go," said Morgan.

"Right," replied Carlos.

"Special move!" exclaimed Morgan. "Super Stab Attack!"

Scorpio charged and glowed a crimson red. The bey then smashed through the shield, knocking Virgo into the air and then speeding on through to Flame Swordsman and smashed it away.

Both Max and Grace were speechless at what just happened.

"I'm not out yet," stated Grace. "Special move! Fire Tornado!"

A tornado of fire appeared around Virgo, shielding it once again.

"Your defenses are useless," stated Carlos. "Special move! Furious Ware-Wolf Attack!"

Wolf suddenly began to multiply and the grey wolf appeared again and multiplied also.

All of the wolves charged and Grace didn't know which was real. They fakes slowly disappeared until there was only one left, and that one smashed through the tornado and smashed Virgo out of the way.

"How did he…?" questioned Grace.

"Now go!" butted in Morgan. "Special move! Poison Fury!"

A giant scarlet scorpion appeared and slashed at Flame Swordsman with its claws.

"This is really bad," commented Max.

"Looks like this is over," stated Carlos as Max and Grace saw that their beys were definitely spinning slower then Scorpio and Wolf.

"There is still one way to win," said Max. "But Grace, we have to work together."

"No way," replied Grace stubbornly.

"If we don't we'll lose," added Max. "Have you yet to realize that their whole strategy revolves around team work. That's what we have to do to win."

"Fine," replied Grace. "Let's do this."

Swordsman spun to the edge of the arena and shot up into the air, while Virgo did the same thing.

"Now!" exclaimed Max and Grace at the same time. "Combination attack!"

"Special move!" shouted Grace. "Flaming Fury!"

Virgo spun faster as it sped through the air and a girl with a long brow hair tied in a high pony tail, wearing a black tight tee with black buttons, tight black pants and brown boats appeared and charged downwards.

"Special move!" cried Max. "Flame Sword Slash!"

The red knight appeared alongside Virgo and charged downwards also.

"Special move!" shouted Carlos. "Wolf Return!"

Wolf glowed blue as it circled the arena and prepared to counterattack.

"Special move!" added Morgan. "Super Stab Attack!"

Scorpio grew a crimson red as it circled the arena also, preparing to counterattack also.

"Heat it up Swordsman!" commanded Max.

"Burn them alive Virgo!" exclaimed Grace.

"Let's end this battle Scorpio!" shouted Morgan.

"Finish them off Wolf!" cried Carlos.

"Goooooooooooooooooooooo!" cried the four as their beys unleashed their attacks.

'This will finish it,' thought Meaner.

Flame Swordsman swung its flaming sword; Virgo swung a shattering punch, Scorpio slashed with its tail, and Wolf bit with its jaws.

There was an explosion and when the dust cleared, Swordsman and Virgo were barely spinning while Wolf and Scorpio had stopped. A few seconds later, Swordsman and Virgo also stopped.

"Few," mumbled Max and he wiped the sweet from his face.

The two boys smiled as the four walked to pick up their beys.

"That was some battle," said Morgan.

"Yeah," added Carlos. "We should battle some other time. I think we'd get along well."

"I guess so," replied Max as he smiled at the two boys.

Grace meanwhile didn't say anything and Max coughed and elbowed her lightly.

"I guess that was a good battle," said Grace. "And Max, I guess you were right about working together. For this one and only situation."

Grave smiled the very slightest as she walked away and told Meaner that they had a deal and that she was off the hook.

"See you around," said Morgan as he and Carlos left the gym as the bell went off.

Max happily left the gym. He was happy that he had such a great battle, happy that he won, happy that he got out of detention and happy that he knew this year would be a good one. _Or would it? _

* * *

><p><strong><em>"So you believe him to be the one," said the figure staring out the window.<em>**

**_"This is definitely the one," replied the cloaked female. _**

**_"We have searched far and wide," added the cloaked male. "He is definitely the one."_**

**_"We also found some who would gladly join our crusade," continued the Cloaked Female. _**

**_"I see," replied the Dark Figure. "Everything is going according to plan. None of them will expect what we have planned. Soon, we will finally achieve our goal. And for the one who we have been searching for, for years will have no idea what hit him."_**

**_The three figures laughed evilly as lighting flashed outside and it rained heavily and the thunder roared._**

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued:<strong>

**So, we catch a first glimpse of the evil in this story. Who are these mysterious figures? Well, you'll have to read on to find out! I still need some more OCs so send them in please. Please read and review! **


	5. Chapter 5: A Piece of Fear

**Hello every one, it's another chapter. I'm trying to update every day so you can all get a new chapter every day. Yay! **

**I would like to say thank you to all of those who have been supported me on this story so far; I really appreciate it and please continue to review. Anyway, here is the update for the accepted OCs. **

* * *

><p><strong>Max Smith (Me! Siderisn)-Summer <strong>

**Sierra Crystals (DazzlerAngel)-Autumn **

**Ninel Lucia Velasquez Bychkov (Graceful Amaryllis)-Winter **

**Blaze Markura (RedPhoenix10123780)-Summer **

**Mana Valkov (Gingercookiessnaps)-Winter **

**Fang Kushina (Gin-Nee)-Saturn**

**Morgan Blue Robinson Abyss (GoldenAngel999)-Mars **

**Frieda Belvini Love (GoldenAngel999)-Spring **

**Carlos Zepeda Jones (GoldenAngel999)-Saturn**

**Grace Styles (DazzlerAngel)-Spring **

**Santina De Luca (Graceful Amaryllis)-Saturn **

**Mitzuki Uryuu (Darkus Phantom)-Mercury **

**Kiara Summers (Grace of Flame)-Summer**

**Jaden Grace (Grace of Flame)-Jupiter **

**Unmei (MarsTwilight)-Mars **

**Linh Tuan (Graceful Amaryllis)-Venus**

**Skyliner Walker (Skyliner Walker Hacama)-Mercury**

**Aiya (Bristeclaw)-Venus **

**Taylor Prince (Grace of Flame)-Venus**

**Luke Portadonnez (Grave of Flames)-Jupiter **

**Winta Blythe (Darkus Phantom)-Winter**

**Destiny Heart (DazzlerAngel)-Autumn **

**Trace Styles (DazzlerAngel)-Autumn **

**Kai Axel (Darkus Phantom)-Spring **

* * *

><p><strong>Few, that's a lot of OCs. But I still need just a little more. Here are the stats. <strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Summer-3 OCs-No more needed-<strong>

**Autumn-3 OCs-No more needed-**

**Winter-3 OCs-No more needed-**

**Spring-3 OCs-No more needed-**

**Saturn-3 OCs-No more needed-**

**Venus-3 OCs-No more needed-**

**Jupiter-2 OCs-1 more needed-**

**Mars-2 OCs-1 more needed-**

**Mercury-2 OCs-1 more needed- **

**So I need just three more OCs. 1 for each of the dorms Jupiter, Mars and Mercury. So, send them in! Here's the next chapter! **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5: A Piece of Fear <strong>

Max quietly cheered as he heard the bell ring; classes were finally over for the day and he could not wait for some awesome bey battles. So far today, the only battle he got be in was to avoid expulsion. And it was pretty intense, considering the fact he was facing two best friends that were awesome in tag team battles. And it didn't help that he was partnered with a very stubborn blader who wanted to work by herself. If Max hadn't convinced her to use teamwork, they would have lost.

Max quickly sped towards the schools main stadium were many battles were breaking out.

Max looked around to see some people cheering, it seemed that someone had won a battle. Max walked over but saw that the bladers who had been battling were gone. Max quickly looked around and spotted a young girl, she was smiling and held a bey in her hand as if she had just been battling.

"Nah," said Max as he walked away, completely dismissing the child he had seen.

"Gingka is definitely the cutest," stated Sierra to Ninel and Santina.

"Nope," replied Ninel. "It's definitely Dashan."

"I'm pretty sure Julian is the cutest," said Santina.

"And their talking about which great bladers they like," mumbled Max to himself from a distance. "That's one conversation I am not going to be interested in."

Max walked away when he saw what appeared to be a heated battle between two boys.

The first boy was wearing a black tank top underneath a blue and black checkered button up shirt. He also wore brown baggy shorts, brown fingerless gloves and black vans. The boy had shaggy blond hair, styled in an undercut and had bright blue eyes. He had tanned skin and appeared to be slightly muscular.

The second boy was wearing a dark a black robe cut out in front with a dark silver rimming. He had a dark silver phoenix feather on the right side of the robe and a black obi ribbon on each sleeve. He also wore black pants and dark grey shoes.

"Go Armour Quetzalcoatl!" cheered the First Boy.

"Keep going Cyber Phoenix!" commanded the Second Boy.

Armour Quetzalcoatl's face bolt had the outline of a two winged serpent on it. The energy ring was green, the fusion wheel silver, the spin track was also silver and the rubber defense flat performance tip was gold.

Cyber Phoenix had a black face bolt while the picture of a phoenix was printed in silver. The energy ring was black with crimson red feather markings that were black in the center. The fusion wheel and spin track were a dark red colour and the performance tip was black while the tip was red.

The tow beys clashed in the stadium and Max watched as the Second Boy used a special move in an attempt to end what had been a long battle.

"Special move!" cried the Second Boy. "Phoenix! Cyber Drive!"

The bey quickly spun around the opposing bey. A silver mechanical phoenix with dark red eyes appeared and charged at Quetzalcoatl. As the Phoenix charged, a golden two winged serpent with sapphire eyes appeared and was jabbed by the wings of the Phoenix. At the same time, Cyber Phoenix smashed Armour Quetzalcoatl out of the arena.

"Dang it," whined the First Boy as he picked up his bey. "I thought I had that battle."

The Second Boy's bey returned to him and he said, "Please don't follow me around everywhere and beg me for a battle anymore."

"Okay," replied the First Boy.

"Thank you," replied the Second Boy.

"Nice battle," stated Max as he walked up to the two boys. "It was a sweet one."

"And you are?" asked the Second Boy.

"I'm Max Prince," stated Max. "The Prince of Fire."

"I'm Mitzuki Uryuu," replied the Second Boy.

"And I'm Taylor Prince," said the First Boy. "The Prince of Earth."

"You both look like tough opponents," stated Max. "I want to battle you both."

"He won't go for it," commented Taylor. "I challenged him in a Skills Lesson and he said no. So I've been nagging him all day for a battle and he finally agreed."

"I'm more of a bey mechanic," said Mitzuki. "Later."

Mitzuki walked off, leaving Taylor and Max alone.

"I'll battle you," suggested Taylor.

"Okay," replied Max.

Suddenly a boy with brown hair appeared. He had bangs that covered his black eyes and wore eyeliner. He was very pale and muscular. He was wearing a white shirt with black ripped jeans, he had silver chains hanging from his waist and he also wore black combat boots.

"What do you want Luke Portadonnez?" asked Prince.

"A battle of course," spat Luke. "And I want it now."

"No," replied Taylor coldly. "I won't battle someone like you."

"You don't me to bring back the painful memories do you?" spat Luke.

Taylor just paused and his face grew pale.

"You don't want me to remind you of the time Jaden tortured you?" continued Luke.

Prince grew even paler and Max didn't know what to say.

Luke laughed devilishly and continued to taunt Taylor.

"Enough!" interrupted Max.

"Little shrimp's got something to say," stated Luke.

"I'm not a shrimp for one," replied Max. "And you don't deserve to be a blader. Some one who tortures others is no true blader at all."

"Really?" replied Luke. "Well, why don't you prove it? If you win, I'll apologize. If I win, I get to do whatever I like to your bey."

"Deal," said Max.

Taylor was still in shock and silently watched as Max and Luke took their respective spots at the arena.

"Prepare to lose!" declared Max as he readied his bey.

"I will make you suffer!" snorted Luke.

"3!" cried Luke.

"2!" continued Max.

"1!" finished Max and Luke at the same time.

"Let it rip!"

The two beys spun into the arena and Luke laughed and introduced his bey.

"Say hello to Death Jupiter," said Luke.

The bey's face bolt had the outline of a man in armour, the energy ring was silver, the fusion wheel black, the spin track gold and the performance tip black.

"Prepare to fall prey to Death Jupiter!" declared Luke. "Attack!"

Jupiter sped forward and smashed into Swordsman, knocking it into the other side of the stadium easily.

"Fight back!" commanded Max.

Swordsman regained its balance and sped at Jupiter, however Jupiter knocked it back with a quick attack.

"Huh?" said Max confused.

"Death Jupiter has much more power then that pathetic Swordsman," spat Luke. "You really think a normal attack will work."

"Crud," said Max.

"Attack Jupiter!" exclaimed Luke.

Jupiter smashed into Swordsman and kept on going. Swordsman tried to fight back but continued to get shut down by Jupiter's incredible power.

Luke laughed as his bey destroyed Max's. Taylor couldn't watch and covered his eyes. Max gritted his teeth as he tried to figure out what to do.

"I can't let it end like this," said Max to himself. "If a normal attack won't work then maybe a special attack will."

"Take this!" shouted Luke as his bey smashed into Swordsman again and sent the bey flying into the air.

"Now!" cried Max. "Special move! Flame Sword Slash!"

The red armoured knight appeared and prepared to assault Jupiter from above. Luke just snorted and cried, "Special move! Jupiter's Shield!"

A blue mist covered the arena, shielding Jupiter from sight.

"I can't see where to attack!" panicked Max.

"And now your bey will smash itself straight into the arena," chuckled Luke.

Max watched awestruck as his bey smashed into the arena. The impact however, blew away the blue fog, revealing Jupiter. However, Swordsman had left a crater in the arena and the bey was wobbling.

"This is so not good," stated Max as his bey managed to jump out of the crater.

"Go now!" shouted Luke. "Special move! Destruction Bringer!"

Jupiter sped up and begun to send a mirage of attacks at Swordsman. The bey was completely merciless as it attacked Swordsman again and again.

"Are you feeling terror yet?" asked Luke.

"Not yet!" replied Max strongly. "I never give up! If I get knocked down I get back up and push harder! Try again! Flame Sword Slash!"

The red knight appeared and swung its sword at Jupiter just as it went in for another attack.

The flaming blade smashed Jupiter into the other side of the arena with a loud crash and Luke cried out as the field was engulfed in flames from Swordsman.

"This isn't over!" stated Luke as his bey continued to spin. "I will make you suffer! I will make you fear me and Jupiter! Special move! God of Destruction!"

A golden armoured man appeared and began to spin around the arena. The Man was creating darkness as it spun, putting out the flames and creating a dome of darkness around the arena.

"What is this?" asked Max.

"Your defeat!" spat Luke. "No face you fears and bow down to them!"

Max cried out as he saw flashed of his worst fears in front of him. Max fell to his knees while Luke laughed devilishly and his Beast attacked the Red Knight.

"That's right!" snorted Luke. "Feel the terror! Feel the piece of fear that lives within you! Embrace it and sink into the darkness of fear!"

The Golden Man continued to through shattering attacks at the Red Knight and Swordsman began to spin slower. Sweat poured off Max as his worst nightmares flashed before his eyes.

_"Never give up," said a voice. _

"Huh," muttered Max to himself.

_"You are stronger then you think."_

"Who are you?" asked Max.

_"That isn't important as of now, and you can win this. You are a powerful light. A light that cannot be extinguished this easily. Rise again, and defeat him. Rise again, more powerful then before. Rise like a phoenix from the ashes. Rise even more powerful then before. RISE!"_

Max gave a fierce roar, stood up and was surrounded by orange aura. His eyes were filled with fire and he felt power surge through him.

"What?" questioned Luke. "How did you break free?"

"Feel my wrath!" roared Max. "Special move! Phoenix Fury!"

Swordsman began to spin faster and Jupiter was knocked back by the bey.

The Red Knight used its blade to block a punch from the Golden Man. It then raised its sword and it was engulfed in flames. A Phoenix made of fire appeared from the sword and flew into the sky.

"What is this?" questioned Luke.

"It's pay back time!" roared Max. "Attack!"

The Phoenix gave a fierce cry before charging at the Golden Man and then began to claw at it. The Golden Man was then engulfed in flames that spread through the dome of darkness and the dome changed to that of fire.

Luke screamed as the dome changed and he looked into the fiery eyes of Max.

"My light will obliterate fear!" roared Max and there was an explosion of flames.

All of the kids and teachers in the school saw a giant stream off ire rise from the stadium Max and Luke were battling in. The fire was super bright and some people had to cover their eyes.

Luke screamed as the flames burnt his bey and shot it out of the arena and smashed it into the pavement. Luke was then thrown back into a wall by the blast while Max remained standing.

_"This was a good test. It seems you have the power I was hoping for. See you around Prince of Fire."_

The glowing orange aura around Max disappeared and Max fell to his knees.

'What was that voice,' thought Max.

Taylor didn't know what to say and went over to Max and said, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," replied Max.

Jaden quickly ran over to Luke and saw how bruised and burnt he was.

"You'll pay for this!" declared Jaden as she helped Luke up and he walked away while leaning on her. Jaden also picked up the beat up Jupiter and gave Max a dirty look.

Max and Taylor watched as they walked away and Max knew that there was something wrong with the voice he heard. But what exactly? And what was that voice?

* * *

><p><strong><em>"So the Boy has already made contact has he," said the Dark Figure. <em>**

**_"Yes Master," replied the Male Cloaked Figure. "He used his abilities, but they are only a fraction of the true power."_**

**_"Indeed," added the Female Cloaked Figure._**

**_"It doesn't matter that much," stated the Dark Figure. "He may have made contact much sooner then anticipated, but the plan shall still work. Just you wait."_**

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued:<strong>

**Dun-dun-duuuuuuun! **

**A few questions for this chapter.**

**1) Who or what was that voice Max heard? **

**2) What is the three mysterious figures plan? **

**3) Who are the Mysterious Figures? And**

**4) What is the true power Max holds? **

**You'll have to read on to find out, until then, send in the last three OCs and please review! **


	6. Chapter 6: A New Challenge

**Hello everyone, here's another chapter. And the final OC acceptance list. **

* * *

><p><strong>Max Smith (Me! Siderisn)-Summer<strong>

**Sierra Crystals (DazzlerAngel)-Autumn **

**Ninel Lucia Velasquez Bychkov (Graceful Amaryllis)-Winter**

**Blaze Markura (RedPhoenix10123780)-Summer**

**Mana Valkov (Gingercookiessnaps)-Winter**

**Fang Kushina (Gin-Nee)-Saturn**

**Morgan Blue Robinson Abyss (GoldenAngel999)-Mars**

**Frieda Belvini Love (GoldenAngel999)-Spring **

**Carlos Zepeda Jones (GoldenAngel999)-Saturn**

**Grace Styles (DazzlerAngel)-Spring **

**Santina De Luca (Graceful Amaryllis)-Saturn **

**Mitzuki Uryuu (Darkus Phantom)-Mercury **

**Kiara Summers (Grace of Flame)-Summer**

**Jaden Grace (Grace of Flame)-Jupiter **

**Unmei (MarsTwilight)-Mars **

**Linh Tuan (Graceful Amaryllis)-Venus**

**Skyliner Walker (Skyliner Walker Hacama)-Mercury**

**Aiya (Bristeclaw)-Venus **

**Taylor Prince (Grace of Flame)-Venus**

**Luke Portadonnez (Grave of Flames)-Jupiter **

**Winta Blythe (Darkus Phantom)-Winter**

**Destiny Heart (DazzlerAngel)-Autumn **

**Trace Styles (DazzlerAngel)-Autumn **

**Kai Axel (Darkus Phantom)-Spring **

**Ayami Gin Scarlet (Tiger Demon of Light)-Mercury **

**Artemis Sakura (turtleswif11)-Jupiter **

**Regina (Random Swift)-Mars **

**Simon Nikso (AKA99)-Summer **

* * *

><p><strong>Wow! I have all of the OCs now. Well, except one from Random Swift I reserved two spots for them and so far they have only given me one. But yeah, these are the OCs that will be apart of this story. <strong>

**I know some of you want all of your OCs to make an appearance all at once, but you're all going to have to be patient. I have a special way that I'm going to introduce people in this and all so just hold your horses. This chapter will explain how I'm going to this, so read and review please! **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6: A New Challenge<strong>

Max slowly walked to his room. He reached into his jean pocket and fished around for his key. He pulled it out and inserted it into the lock and turned it.

Click.

Max turned the knob and opened the door. He took the key off the lock and closed the door behind him.

Max dumped the keys on his desk and walked to the closet. He opened it and fished out a pair of orange shorts and a black singlet. He threw them onto his fully red single bed before changing into them. Max just left his clothes on the floor. Without his Mum around, his room was going to turn into a real pigsty.

Max jumped onto his bed and laid down. He placed his hands under his head and starred up at the ceiling.

'What was that voice?' thought Max. 'It was like it was in my head or something. And its words sounded so clear. And when it said rise, I felt power like never before surge through me. And Flame Swordsman surged with power as well. I've never been able to do a move like Phoenix Fury before. I don't even know why I said Phoenix Fury in the first place.'

Max sighed as he reached over to his white bedside table and picked up his bey.

Max held it above his head and examined it.

'Swordsman looks the same but it feels as almost the power it still there. Unlike for me. The power came but once I won the battle, well it just left me.'

Max kissed his bey before placing it back on the bedside table and pulling the covers over himself.

Max hit a switch on the wall and all the lights in the room turned off.

Max closed his eyes and quickly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p><em>"Never give up."<em>

Max turned onto his side and gritted his teeth.

_"You are stronger then you think."_

Max turned onto his stomach and pushed the sides of the pillow against his ears.

_"You are a powerful light. A light that cannot be extinguished this easily. Rise again, and defeat him. Rise again, more powerful then before. Rise like a phoenix from the ashes. Rise even more powerful then before. RISE!"_

Max screamed as the memories of the voice he had heard in his last battle echoed through his mind.

Max threw the covers off of himself and screamed even harder. Orange aura surrounded Max and his bey. Sweat poured off of him as threw his arms and legs around wildly and the aura grew brighter and stronger.

_"Do not resist," said the voice. "Except the power."_

"Go away!" screamed Max as the aura around him exploded and blasted the room apart.

Suddenly, a giant black shadow came upon Max and roared fiercely.

* * *

><p>Max's eyes burst open and he screamed as he sat up. Max huffed and puffed and had sweat pouring off of him. Max looked around to see that the room was the same as it had been when he had fallen asleep.<p>

"Just a nightmare," said Max to himself. "But there's no way I'm going to sleep after a dream like that."

Max threw the covers off of himself and leaped off the bed. He strapped his black belt to his waist and placed Swordsman in a small compartment on it.

Max flicked the lights back on and slowly unlocked the door, stepped out into the halls and then locked the door behind him.

Max walked into the empty courtyard and sat on a bench. Max looked up at the starry night and the shining moon.

"What's happening to me?" asked Max.

"So you were the one screaming in his sleep," said a voice.

Max turned around to see a boy with silver hair standing on the other side of the courtyard.

He was wearing a gold tank top; silver pajama pants and like Max had his bey belt strapped on.

The Boy walked over to Max and said, "What was with the screaming? I think some people woke up with a fright."

"Nightmare," replied Max quickly, not wanting to think of the strange dream he had.

"Must have been a bad one," replied the Boy as he sat down next to Max. "Can't sleep then?"

"Yeah," replied Max as he looked at the pavement.

"Then how about something to take your mind off it?" suggested the Boy. "Like a bey battle."

"Sounds good," replied Max.

The two stood up and took their respective sides at the main Summer Dorm Arena.

Max and the Boy took out their launches and their beys.

"My names Simon Nikso," stated the Boy. "And this is my bey Gryphos Dragon."

The boy held up his bey. Its face bolt had a griffon dragon hybrid design on it. The energy ring was coloured blood red and the fusion wheel was gold and it was shaped like wings that had secret hatches. Inside the hatches was pressurized rubber. The spin track was black and like the fusion wheel had pressurized rubber compartments. The performance tip was a ball one and was plain.

"I'm Simon Nikso by the way," added the Boy. "Ready?"

"Yep," replied Max as he and Simon readied their beys.

"3!" cried Simon.

"2!" added Max.

"1!" finished the two together.

"Let it rip!"

The two beys spun into battle and attacked each other.

Simon then noticed that a human griffon hybrid had appeared next to him.

"Hey Griff," said Simon.

"Simon," replied Griff. "Battling at midnight, not a smart move."

"Helping this kid take something off his mind," replied Simon.

Max looked at Simon when he heard him talking. He could see a faint shape standing next to him. It looked like a cross between a griffon and a human.

"What it that?" panicked Max.

Simon was shocked and replies with, "You can see him?"

"He can see me?" questioned Griff. "But how?"

"It's okay," said Simon. "He's my friend."

"But what is it?" asked Max.

"The names Griff," said Griff.

"It talks too?" questioned Max.

"It's a spirit," explained Simon. "He and Drake are spirits that I can communicate with. But now one else has ever been able to see them but me."

'Could this be another thing to do with that voice?' thought Max. 'First I get that power, and now I can see spirits.'

"Let's continue!" declared Max.

"Right!" replied Simon. "Charge Gryphos!"

Gryphos charged forward and smashed into Swordsman. Swordsman was flung back from the attack but charged forward and the two beys hit head on.

Sparks flew as the two bladers put all of their power into their attacks.

Eventually, Swordsman pushed Gryphos back and the bey lost its balance.

Swordsman circled the arena while Gryphos attempted to regain its balance.

Swordsman suddenly charged forward and smashed into Gryphos. The bey then sent a mirage of attacks that stopped Gryphos from regaining balance.

"Take that!" cried Max as his bey continued to attack.

"Strike back!" exclaimed Simon. "Burst Blast!"

Gryphos was suddenly engulfed in flames and Swordsman's attack was deflected when it came into contact with the opposing bey.

"Charge!" commanded Simon and his bey did just that.

Gryphos charged forward and smashed through Swordsman. Swordsman was thrown around the arena as the bey was attacked again and again by Gryphos.

"Your not the only one who can use a special move!" declared Max. "Go! Flame Sword Slash!"

A red knight appeared and slashed at Gryphos as it charged.

The bey was knocked back from the attack and was thrown with a crash into the other side of the arena.

"Not bad," complemented Simon. "But this is far from over! Special move! Wingtip Scorcher!"

Gryphos zoomed around the arena and then shot up into the air. The bey was set on fire as it fell towards Swordsman.

At the same time, a dragon griffon hybrid appeared and smashed through the Red Knight.

There was a small explosion and both beys were still spinning. Swordsman however was wobbling.

"Attack again!" commanded Max.

The Red Knight appeared and attempted to slash at Gryphos but the bey dodged it.

"Time to end this!" shouted Simon. "Gryphos Dragon Descend! Special move! Inferno Destruction Ultimatum!"

Gryphos once again covered itself in flames but the beast appeared and charged.

Gryphos smashed into Swordsman with a crash and there was an explosion and Max watched as his bey was flung high into the air.

'I can't lose,' thought Max. 'There must be some way I can win. Maybe if I use that move I used when I had that strange power I can win. Maybe if I focus hard enough.'

Max closed his eyes and though hard.

_"Good," said the Voice. "Use the power you have attained and win."_

Max opened his eyes and he was covered in orange aura.

"I sense great power," said Griff.

"Special move!" cried Max. "Phoenix Fury!"

There was in an explosion of fire in the sky and a phoenix of fire flew down and smashed into the arena. Flames exploded from the arena and Simon cried out and covered his face as the flames came near him.

The Phoenix sped around Gryphos and burnt it to ash while Swordsman flew down from the sky and crash into the opposing bey.

There was another explosion and Gryphos was flung out of the arena while Simon was thrown back from the attack.

The flames disappeared as Max recalled his bey and felt himself weaken.

'That attack,' thought Max. 'It uses a lot of my energy.'

Simon walked over to his bey and picked it up.

"You are good," complimented Simon. "I never expected to see an attack so powerful as that."

"Yeah," mumbled Max in reply.

"See you around," said Simon as he walked off.

Max looked up at the night sky before turning away and walking back to his room.

* * *

><p>Ninel watched as the Red Knight held its sword up and a stream off fire shot out of it and rose into the sky.<p>

Ninel opened her eyes and sat up.

'A dream,' thought Ninel. 'That was Max's bey beast. So why did I have a dream about it?'

* * *

><p>Max jogged into the courtyard of the school. The Principal Mr. Jones was about to make an announcement.<p>

Jones stood at the podium and spoke. "Hello students, I hope you all enjoyed your first day at the Academy. I am here to tell you that in a week a special tournament will take place. A battle royal you could call it. Each Dorm will battle it out to decide who are the top members. They will then form a team in the special Battle of the Dorms Competition."

Heaps of students cheered and Max was super excited.

'This is the best chance to prove that I am the best blader here,' thought Max.

* * *

><p><strong><em>"The Battle of the Dorms is the perfect place to gain energy for our ritual," said the Dark Figure.<em>**

**_"Indeed," replied the Female Cloaked Figure._**

**_"Our plan will proceed well with this tournament," added the Male Cloak Figure._**

**_The Dark Figure smiled as he picked up a glass of wine and took a sip. _**

**_"We will finally have what we have desired for so long," stated the Dark Figure as he took another sip of his wine. _**

**_The three figures then laughed evilly. _**

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued:<strong>

**So there you have it, The Battle of the Dorms is how I am going to introduce all of the characters. So please review! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! **


	7. Chapter 7: Building the Team

**Here we have another chapter, hope you have all enjoyed this story so far. And don't worry; everyone's OCs will make an appearance eventually. Please read and review! Also, there are some important things you need to read at the end of the chapter. **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7: Building the Team<strong>

* * *

><p>Max walked into the Summer Dorm courtyard and saw all of the students from the dorm standing around. The arena since yesterday had been under special arrangements. The courtyard was a lot smaller, but that was because the arena had been resized to fit all of the Summer Dorm bladers in it.<p>

"Alright kids," announced the Teacher. "Now, we want the strongest team for this tournament. So, all of us will battle at once in this super knock out match. The remaining four students will become our dorms team. Alright now, get ready."

All of the students crowded around the big arena and readied their beys.

"3!" cried the Teacher.

"2!" added half of the students.

"1!" finished the other half.

"Let it rip!"

Heaps of beys spun into the arena and began to clash. Out of them, four easily stood out.

"Flame Sword Slash!" commanded Max as the Red Knight began slashing at beys and knocking them out of the arena.

"Fire Tornado!" exclaimed Blaze as her bey materialized a tornado of fire that smashed heaps of beys out of the stadium.

"Burst Blast!" cried Simon as his bey covered itself in flames and then charged, sending heaps of beys flying out of the stadium.

Kiara was the fourth blader to be battling hard. She and her bey, Flame Solaria, were unstoppable.

Flame Solaria had a red face bolt with the outline of lioness printed on it. The energy ring was yellow and had lion paw marks on it. The fusion wheel was red, the spin track yellow and the performance tip red.

"Solaria Fire Storm Fury!" shouted Kiara, as her bey was unleashing waves of fire that easily wiped out any bey that got in the way.

Eventually, only Max, Blaze, Simon and Kiara remained.

"Okay then," interrupted the Teacher. "We have our team. Max Smith, Blaze Markaru, Simon Nikso and Kiara Summers. Now, you have all made it onto the team and the continuing battle is just for fun. So continue."

"I want payback for last time Max!" declared Blaze. "Phoenix attack!"

"I want payback too!" added Simon. "Gryphos attack!"

"Oh no!" panicked Max. "I have two beys attacking me at the same time!"

Suddenly, Solaria smashed into Phoenix and knocked it off course.

"Hey!" snapped Blaze as he looked at Kiara.

"I still want revenge for when you took my bey!" replied Kiara. "We're battling right here, right now! Charge Solaria!"

Solaria charged again and smashed into Phoenix.

"Back off!" warned Blaze. "Special move! Fire Tornado!"

A tornado off fire appeared and spun towards Solaria.

"Solaria!" cried Kiara. "Special move! Flame Barrier!"

A red barrier appeared around the bey and protected if from the tornado.

"Now!" continued Kiara. "Queen Lioness Rising Sundance!"

Solaria spun quickly around Phoenix and it created a blinding light as it did so, Blaze, Max and Simon covered their eyes.

"Now time to attack!" cried Kiara as her bey finished the attack. The light stopped and Blaze could see that her bey had slowed down. "Solaria Fire Storm Fury!"

The bey unleashed a wave of fire that smashed into Phoenix and sent it flying into the other side of the arena.

"You'll pay for that!" snapped Blaze. "Special move! Immortal Flame!"

A bright light appeared in the sky and unleashed an explosion that fell towards Solaria.

"Special move!" interrupted Kiara. "Solaria Firelight Wall!"

A wall of fire appeared around Solaria as the explosion neared. The explosion smashed into the shield and was thrown back into Phoenix.

Blaze cried out as her bey was knocked out of the arena from the deflected blast.

Blaze couldn't say anything while Kiara cheered.

"Burst Blast!" interrupted Simon as his bey, covered in flames smashed into Solaria. The bey was smashed into the air and flew out of the arena.

"He got me when I was looking," commented Kiara. "Darn it."

"You have to keep your eyes on the game," stated Simon.

"Flame Sword Slash!" cried Max as the Red Knight slashed away at Gryphos.

Simon was speechless as his bey fell at his feet.

"You should take your own advice," suggested Max with a smirk.

"You got me," replied Simon as he picked up his bey. "But I'll get you next time."

"I look forward to it," said Max as his bey returned to him.

* * *

><p>The four bladers came together.<p>

"Okay," said Max. "If we're going to win, we have to work together and stand strong."

"Fine," said the Girls at the same time.

"Let's go and win," stated Simon.

The four puts their hands in the middle and then threw them up into the air.

"Let it rip!"

* * *

><p><strong><em>"I'm going to have so much fun watching this tournament," stated the Dark Figure. <em>**

**_"It will be fun indeed," replied the Male Cloaked Figure. _**

**_"Those little brats have no idea what cause they are helping," chuckled the Female Cloaked Figure. _**

**_"This will be the most fun I've had in years," stated the Dark Figure as he took a sip from his glass of wine. "They'll never expect what I have in store." _**

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued:<strong>

**Short chapter, I know, don't hate me. I was sort of rushed it though. Besides, the next one will be the start of the tournament! Yay! Now for the important matter!**

**SUPER IMPORTANT MATTER! MUST READ: **

**Okay, I need names for the teams so when you are reviewing, send some suggestions in. **

**Teams and members:**

* * *

><p><strong>Summer:<strong>

**1) Max Smith**

**2) Simon Nikso **

**3) Kiara Summers**

**4) Blaze Markura **

**I've decided to put four members in this team cause I felt like it, and I wanted another boy on the team. **

* * *

><p><strong>Autumn: <strong>

**1) Sierra Crystals**

**2) Destiny Heart**

**3) Trace Styles **

* * *

><p><strong>Winter:<strong>

**1) Ninel Lucia Velasquez Bychkov**

**2) Mana Valkov**

**3) Winta Blythe **

* * *

><p><strong>Spring: <strong>

**1) Frieda Belvini Love**

**2) Grace Styles**

**3) Kai Axel**

* * *

><p><strong>Jupiter:<strong>

**1) Jaden Grace**

**2) Luke Portadonnez**

**3) Artemis Sakura**

* * *

><p><strong>Saturn: <strong>

**1) Fang Kushina**

**2) Carlos Zepeda Jones**

**3) Santina De Luca**

* * *

><p><strong>Mars:<strong>

**1) Morgan Blue Robinson Abyss**

**2) Unmei**

**3) Regina**

* * *

><p><strong>Venus:<strong>

**1) Linh Tuan**

**2) Aiya **

**3) Taylor Prince**

* * *

><p><strong>Mercury:<strong>

**1) Mitzuki Uryuu**

**2) Skyliner Walker**

**3) Ayami Gin Scarlet**

* * *

><p><strong>So, there are the teams and please send in some team names when you review! The tournament begins in the next chapter, which I'll post tomorrow! Yay!<strong>


	8. Chapter 8: Let the Tournament Begin

**Dun-dun-dun-duuuuuuuuun! Here we have it! This is the chapter where the Battle of the Dorms tournament begins! Yay! I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Here are the teams and their names. By the way, I have used some of the names you suggested and from the names that didn't get in; I used them as a basis for my own team name ideas. **

* * *

><p><strong>Summer: Team Nova Flare (I came up with this name)<strong>

**1) Max Smith**

**2) Simon Nikso **

**3) Kiara Summers**

**4) Blaze Markura **

* * *

><p><strong>Autumn: Team Spirit Burst (I came up with this name) <strong>

**1) Sierra Crystals**

**2) Destiny Heart**

**3) Trace Styles **

* * *

><p><strong>Winter: Team Frostbite (I came up with this name) <strong>

**1) Ninel Lucia Velasquez Bychkov**

**2) Mana Valkov**

**3) Winta Blythe **

* * *

><p><strong>Spring: Team Fiore (Italian for flower and from GoldenAngel999) <strong>

**1) Frieda Belvini Love**

**2) Grace Styles**

**3) Kai Axel**

* * *

><p><strong>Jupiter: Team King Destructors (From Grace of Flame) <strong>

**1) Jaden Grace**

**2) Luke Portadonnez**

**3) Artemis Sakura**

* * *

><p><strong>Saturn: Team Atlas (Atlas is a Saturn moon, given by GoldenAngel999) <strong>

**1) Fang Kushina**

**2) Carlos Zepeda Jones**

**3) Santina De Luca**

* * *

><p><strong>Mars: Team Crimson (Shade of red, because Mars is the red planet) <strong>

**1) Morgan Blue Robinson Abyss**

**2) Unmei**

**3) Regina**

* * *

><p><strong>Venus: Team Power Burst (I came up with this name) <strong>

**1) Linh Tuan**

**2) Aiya **

**3) Taylor Prince**

* * *

><p><strong>Mercury: Raging Spirit (I came up with this name) <strong>

**1) Mitzuki Uryuu**

**2) Skyliner Walker**

**3) Ayami Gin Scarlet**

**Hope you like the names, and also, check out the special image I made for this story and tell me what you think! Now, the chapter you have all been waiting for. **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8: Let the Tournament Begin! <strong>

Max lay in his soft warm bed. He was curled up in a ball and was snoring away.

RING! RING! RING! RING! RING! RING! RING! RING! RING!

Max was completely unfazed by the Alarm Clock; he was in to deep of a sleep to wake up.

About an hour later, there was a knock on the door.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Open up!" cried Blaze.

"Hurry up Max!" added Simon.

"Today is the first day of the tournament and were up first!" finished Kiara.

"I don't want to go to school today Mummy," mumbled Max in reply.

"What now?" asked Simon.

"I have an idea," replied Blaze.

Blaze stood in front of the door and took a deep breath before screaming, "MAX! IF YOU DON'T GET UP NOW I'M GOING TO BUST MY WAY IN THERE AND BEAT YOU TO A PULP!"

Simon and Kiara just backed away slowly while there was some rustling coming from inside the room.

The door opened to reveal a fully dressed Max who was rubbing his eyes.

"Can't a guy get some sleep around here," stated Max.

"NO!" screamed Blaze in reply.

* * *

><p>The four went down to the main arena. All of the kids in the school were sitting in the stands, waiting for the first match to take place.<p>

"Wow," stated Max. "Look at all those people."

"I don't wan tot think about that," replied Blaze uneasy.

"This is going to be fun," commented Simon.

"Let's go out there and win this thing," added Blaze.

"Time to go Team Solaria," finished Kiara.

Her three teammates turned around and glared at her. The three then said, "Really?"

"What?" replied Kiara innocently? "It was just a suggestion."

"We'll," said Blaze. "We need a proper team name. Any suggestions."

"I have an idea," piped up Max. "We all use fire beys right? So we should a fire themed name. How about, Team Nova Flare?"

"Sounds goo to me," replied Simon.

"Okay," said Blaze. "So we all agree to team Nova Flare?"

"Yep," replied Max, Simon and Kiara.

The four placed their hands in the middle, threw them up and cheered, "Go Team Nova Flare!"

The four stood just outside the arena as they waited for Principal Jones to introduce them and the other team. A teacher also got their team name and added it to a list of other ones.

"Attention," announced Principal Jones. "Here we have our first match. First up, we have the Summer Dorms team! Give a round of applause for Team Nova Flare!"

Heaps of people cheered and then stopped as Jones went to announce the bladers.

"Our first blader has been given the nick-name Red-Head, give it up for Blaze Markura!" announced Jones

Heaps of people heard as Blaze entered the arena. She didn't really wave or show any emotion at all. All she was thinking of was winning. And she was trying to pretend that there wasn't anyone looking at her.

"Our next blader has been given the nick-name Kia, give it up for Kiara Summers!"

The crowd cheered even louder as Kiara entered the arena. She waved a little more the Blaze but otherwise merely walked to the bey stadium where Blaze was.

"Our next blader has been given the nick-name Cy, give it up for Simon Nikso!"

Simon entered and waved as the crowd cheered. Simon then went over to Blaze and Kiara.

"Our final blader is known as the Prince of Fire. From what I have been told, so far he has a knack for getting into trouble! But any ways, give a round of applause for Max Smith!"

Max ran into the arena and began waving like a lunatic as the crowd cheered.

All three of his teammates placed their hands on their faces.

Max then went over to his team while they all said, "Smooth Max." Real smooth."

"And now for the opposing team! Let's give it up for the Winter Dorm's team! Team Frostbite!"

The crowd applauded loudly as Jones then went to introduce the bladers.

"Our first blader is Mana Valkov!"

The crowd cheered as a young girl appeared. She had pale skin and lavender eyes. Her hair was a dark royal purple that stopped just before at the nape of her neck. The ends of her bangs were appeared to be dyed ice blue. She was wearing a black fleece-vest over a dark blue t-shirt. She also wore blue jeans, black-heeled boots, a silver bracelet with a heart charm on it and she had a beyblade holder on her left arm.

"Our next blader is the one and only Ninel Lucia Velasquez Bychkov!"

Ninel walked into the stadium and waved to the crowd.

'So I might be up against Ninel,' thought Max. 'Interesting.'

"And our final blader is feared as The Death of the Blizzard! Give it up for Winta Blythe!"

A young girl stepped into the arena and began to wave to the cheering crowd. She was wearing a blue suit with silver ad orange shoulder and wrist guards. She also wore black boots and had a pair of black sunglasses resting on her head.

"And now for the first battle!" announced Jones. "We will do so by using the slot machine!"

Up on the big screen, everyone watched as it began to flash with images of the two teams. Finally, it stopped.

**Max Smith VS Mana Valkov**

"I'm up!" cheered Max as he went to take his place at the stadium.

Mana smiled as she took her place also.

The two foes looked at each other from opposite ends of the stadium.

"Prepare to fall prey to my Flame Swordsman!" declared Max with a smile as he held up his bey.

"I'll freeze you in your tracks with Ice Fox!" replied Mana as she held up her bey.

It was mainly royal purple in colour. The face bolt had a fox printed on it in royal purple and the words Ice Fox are printed in royal purple are also there. The attack ring and performance tip are royal purple also and the attack ring had wings folded underneath.

"So," stated Max. "It's a battle of Fire and Ice huh. Interesting."

"Let's do this," replied Mana.

The two bladers readied their beys.

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Dark Figure sat down in the chair. Next to him was a small table with a glass of wine. <em>**

**_"It is about to begin Master," said the Male Cloaked Figure as he stood on the left side of his master._**

**_"This tournament is going to fuel our ritual," added the Female Cloaked Figure who stood on the left side of her master. _**

**_"I'm going to enjoy this," stated the Dark Figure as he took a sip of the wine. "These little brats will entertain me well." _**

* * *

><p>"3!" cried the crowd.<p>

"2!" added Mana.

"1!" finished Max.

"Let it rip!"

The two beys spun into the arena and the crowd began to cheer.

"This battle belongs to the swift!" stated Max. "I'll end this match quick! Attack Swordsman!"

Swordsman quickly charged forward towards Fox, but the ice bey quickly dodged.

"Hey!" cried Max. "Hold still!"

Swordsman sped after Fox but the bey was still too quick.

"That's a fast bey," commented Simon.

"Definitely," replied Kiara.

"This is the ultimate speed bey!" stated Mana. "I can easily outrun your little Swordsman!"

"I wouldn't bet on that!" replied Max. "Heat this match up Swordsman!"

Swordsman spun near the edge of the arena and began to circle the arena.

"What are you doing?" asked Mana.

"If you can't take the heat get out the kitchen!" cheered Max.

As Swordsman continued to circle, it was building up speed and it soon was covered in flames.

"Let's see you dodge this!" shouted Max. "Charge Swordsman!"

Swordsman abruptly stopped circling the arena and sped towards Fox.

Mana watched as Red Knight rammed into a pure black fox with royal purple eyes.

At the same time, Swordsman smashed Fox into the other side of the arena.

Mana smiled as she realized that this was going to be one heck of a battle.

"Now go!" cried Max. "Special move! Flame Sword Slash!"

The Red Knight's sword was ignited with fire and it prepared to slash at the Black Fox.

Swordsman covered itself in fire as it charged towards Fox who had lost its balance.

"Go!" exclaimed Max as his bey smashed into Fox and the Red Knight slashed at the Black Fox.

There was a small explosion and when the dust cleared, Fox came zooming at Swordsman. Fox had managed to dodge the attack again.

Fox and Swordsman hit dead on with their attacks and the two beys pushed madly. Neither was giving an inch. Neither was refusing to give up. Neither refused to win.

"Go Swordsman!" cried Max as orange aura surrounded him.

"Go Fox!" shouted Mana as blue aura surrounded her.

'I going to put everything I have into this attack,' thought Max. 'This is a battle between Fire and Ice, and I'm going to melt the ice that blocks the path to victory.

Swordsman broke off and spun around the arena again. As it did so, the bey heated up and covered itself in flames.

'He's going to use that special move again,' thought Mana. 'But I have my own moves.'

"Flame Sword Slash!" commanded Max as the Red Knight prepared to slash at Fox.

"Special move!" cried Mana as the Red Knight swung its sword at the Black Fox.

There was an explosion and Max was smiling, he was sure he had won.

When the dust cleared, he was shocked to see that the Black Fox was still there.

"Huh?" questioned Max.

As the dust cleared even more, Max could see that the Red Knight's attack had stopped just short. The Red Knight was frozen.

"No way!" panicked Max.

"I used the special move Snow Storm!" declared Mana. "This has frozen the arena over and you bey. Mine on the other hand dances on top of the ice!"

"Not bad!" complemented Max. "But you forget what makes ice melt! Heat! Go Swordsman!"

The bey began to heat up and the ice around it melted. The Red Knight was also heating up and melting the ice.

Max closed his eyes as orange aura surrounded him.

_"Good," said the Voice. "Use the power. If you want to get stronger you must continue to use the power."_

Max's eyes burst open as the aura around him exploded.

"Special move!" exclaimed Max. "Phoenix Fury!"

The Red Knight's sword heated up and a flaming phoenix burst from the sword covered in ice. As it did, it released a wave of fire that smashed all of the ice away.

The Phoenix flew into the air and gave a fierce screech before charging down at the Black Fox.

The crowd watched as the bright flaming Phoenix charged down at the Black Fox.

The Black Fox was ready to rumble and Mana was ready to command her bey to fight back.

But just as the Phoenix was about to make contact, it instead turned into a wave of fire that incinerated the Black Fox.

Mana cried out as her bey beast gave a yelp in pain and there was an explosion of fire.

The crowd all covered their eyes as the flames exploded through the stadium.

When the attacked had ended, all of the water from the melted ice had been evaporated and Fox was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey?" asked Max. "Where did the bey go?"

"That was some attack!" complemented Mana. "But check out mine!"

Max looked up and saw that his attack had been so strong that it had eventually smashed Fox up into the air.

The bey was glowing a blue colour and ice was forming on the performance tip.

"Special move!" exclaimed Mana.

"Oh nuts!" panicked Max.

"Ice Meteor!" finished Mana.

Her bey dropped from the sky and was heading right towards Swordsman.

Max watched as Mana's bey smashed into Swordsman with a crash.

When the dust cleared, both beys were still spinning. But Max knew that this opponent of his wasn't going to go down easy.

"I survived," said Max. "Just."

"Let's try this again!" stated Mana. "Fly Fox!"

Fox sped to the edge of the arena and launched itself into the air. Once again, ice formed on the performance tip and the bey dropped.

"Ice Meteor!" cried Mana.

"Max!" cried Simon. "Do something!"

"If you don't you'll lose!" added Kiara.

"Don't you dare lose!" snapped Blaze.

'What can I do,' thought Max. 'I don't have enough energy left to use Phoenix Fury again. And Flame Sword Slash won't be strong enough to counter an attack like this. Unless, I hit it earlier. Maybe, if I can create a stream like attack from Flame Sword Slash then I can…'

"Go Flame Swordsman!" shouted Max.

Swordsman began to generate heat and Mana just smirked.

"Flame Sword Slash won't be strong enough to battle this attack!" stated Mana.

"I'm not using Flame Sword Slash!" replied Max with a smile.

"What!" cried Max's entire team and Mana.

"Check this out!" shouted Max. "Special move! Flame Spiral!"

The Red Knight appeared and it held its sword up. A stream of swirling fire then shot out of the sword and smashed into the falling Fox.

Heaps of people cheered as Mana's bey fell to the ground with a sickening crunch.

"This isn't over!" declared Mana. "I have one move left! My best move!"

Fox managed to regain its balance and the secret wings unfolded. The bey then began to wobble again as ice formed on the performance tip and fairy wings sprung from the bey.

"This is it," stated Max. "The final showdown."

"Indeed," replied Mana. "Let's go!"

"Special move!" exclaimed Max and Mana.

"Flame Sword Slash!" roared Max.

"Dance of the Ice Fairy!" screamed Mana.

Swordsman charged at Fox and upon contact, the bey unleashed a stream of ice.

The Red Knight appeared and held its flaming sword up and used the fire radiating from it to block the ice.

"Gooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" roared the two bladers as their beys unleashed as much power as they could.

The Red Knight stood strong and eventually the fire emitting from the sword overpowered the ice stream and the fire smashed into Fox and shot it up into the air.

"Time to end this!" cried Max as Mana panicked on the inside. "Flame Spiral!"

The red Knight held its sword up and a swirling stream of fire shot up into the air and smashed Fox right into the roof with a crash.

The spectators covered their eyes as the Red Knight emitted a glowing orange light.

* * *

><p><strong><em>"What magnificent power," stated the Dark Figure as he watched the battle through the TV. <em>**

* * *

><p><em>"Nice job," commented the Voice. "See you later."<em>

The flames stopped and Fox fell with a crunch at Mana's feet.

"That was awesome," commented Max as he recalled his bey and wiped the sweet from his face. "I can't wait for our rematch."

"Yeah," replied Mana as she picked up her bey and walked away.

The crowd cheered for Max and Max waved.

Mr. Jones stepped back up to the microphone. "And the winner of the first match is Max Smith in an excellent battle! He has claimed one win for Team Nova Flare!"

Max went over to his teammates and they all gave Max a high five.

"That's one match down," stated Max. "Now let's get another win."

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued: Next time-Blaze VS Winta-<strong>

**Blaze is sent into battle against the feared Death of the Blizzard. It's another battle of fire versus ice and Blaze must step up if she wants to win. Blaze must conquer her fears of being watched by everyone in the stadium if she wants to win. But Winta plans to crush Blaze and seize a victory for her team.**

**What did you all think of the first chapter of the tournament? I tried to make it really intense and I hope I delivered. Tell me what you think and what you thought of the cool image I made for this story! **


	9. Chapter 9: Facing your fears

**Hello everyone! I really liked the feedback I got from the last chapter, thank you. **

**By the way, turtleswif11, at the time I sent that PM, I thought that was they way I wanted the tournament to work but I have decided to change it. The tournament will be like any other, the teams will face off and if you win you move onto the next round. I'll explain how I'm going to deal with the uneven number of teams later. **

* * *

><p><strong>Battles:<strong>

**Team Nova Flare VS Team Frostbite:**

**Max Smith VS Mana Valkov: Max Win: 1 Win to Nova Flare**

**Now to the chapter, please read and review! **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9: Facing your Fears<strong>

"And now for the next battle," announced Mr. Jones.

Everyone in the stadium looked up at the giant screen and watched as it flashed with images. The images then stopped and showed the match.

**Blaze Markura VS Winta Blythe **

"Looks like your up," said Simon to Blaze.

"Yep," replied Blaze uneasy.

"Go get us a win," said Ninel to Winta.

"You got it," replied Winta.

Winta walked out into the arena and waved as the crowd cheered.

Blaze on the other hand was trying not to think of the crowd.

'Just pretend they're not there,' thought Blaze.

"Let's do this," declared Winta as she held up her bey, Frost Ijiraq.

The bey had an orange face bolt that had the head of a humanoid moose on it. The energy ring was dark blue, orange and had dark yellow accents also. The ring was shaped like complex horns and had rough edges. The fusion wheel was mostly and ice blue colour with orange streaks. It was also shaped like three scythes and was in attack mode. This made the tips of the scythes tilt back and then jut outwards like spikes. The spin track was mostly dark purple with orange spikes on it and it cured upwards in shape. The performance tip is completely metallic and dark purple colour with two ivy blue spikes on either side.

"Right," replied Blaze as she readied her bey and did her best to ignore the crowd.

"3!" cried Winta.

"2!" added Blaze.

"1!" finished the crowd.

"Let it rip!"

Phoenix and Ijiraq spun into battle and Blaze quickly commanded her bey to spin to the center of the arena.

"Defense huh," commented Winta. "Well, I guess I might as well attack then."

Ijiraq charged forward and Phoenix took the blow and moved back into the center.

"Keep going!" commanded Winta as her bey continued to smash into Phoenix.

"So sticking to defense," stated Winta. "Then I'll attack harder! Special move! Nostril Frost Blast!"

A humanoid moose appeared and it snorted, releasing a windblast that knocked Phoenix into the other side of the arena.

Blaze had frozen in place and didn't say anything. The crowd had traumatized her.

"What's she doing?" asked Max as Ijiraq began to continuously attack over and over again.

"She isn't moving," added Simon.

"It's like she's got stage fright," said Kiara.

"Keep pushing Ijiraq!" cheered Winta.

Ijiraq smashed Phoenix around the arena and Blaze was completely paralyzed by the crowd. She was vulnerable.

'I can't do it,' thought Blaze. 'This is many people is scary. I can't think straight. I guess I'm going to lose.'

"Don't give up!" interrupted Max. "Blaze listen to me! I know you're scared of the crowd! But you can't let it get to you! You want to this tournament right! Then you have to conquer your fear. They're not here to intimidate you, they're here to see you win!"

Blaze listened carefully to Max's words of encouragement and knew what she had to do.

"Max, your right," mumbled Blaze to herself as she closed her eyes. "I will win!"

Phoenix suddenly dodged Ijiraq's attack and then attacked it. The two beys unleashed their full power as they attacked.

"Now we're getting somewhere!" cheered Winta.

"Go Phoenix!" exclaimed Blaze.

Phoenix began to push Ijiraq back and Winta smiled.

"Push harder Ijiraq!" shouted Winta.

Ijiraq began to push back and sparks flew throughout the arena.

"Let's kick this up a notch!" declared Blaze as her bey moved away from Ijiraq. "Special move! Fire Tornado!"

A tornado of fire was materialized by Phoenix and it spun around the arena.

"Run away!" commanded Winta as Ijiraq quickly sped away from the tornado.

"You can't escape!" explained Blaze as the tornado began to close in on Ijiraq.

"Who says I was running?" asked Winta with a smirk. "Special move! Icicle Spike!"

Blaze watched as spikes of ice appeared throughout the entire field.

"So what!" cried Blaze. "I'll bust my way through!"

The flaming tornado continued to move towards Ijiraq, but found that the more it burnt through the ice spikes, the more power it lost.

Winta smiled as the tornado eventually fell apart and vanished at is lost all of its power.

"Darn it," stated Blaze. "I can't believe that didn't work!"

"Let's try this again!" cheered Winta. "Attack Ijiraq!"

Ijiraq charged forward and smashed into Phoenix. The bey went flying but landed in the stadium.

"I won't lose!" cried Blaze. "Try again Phoenix!"

Phoenix recovered and charged at Ijiraq. The two beys clashed and sparks went flying yet again.

"Keep going!" commanded Blaze.

"Show them your power!" cried Winta.

Eventually, Ijiraq managed to knock Phoenix back but Blaze only smiled.

"Time to end this for real!" exclaimed Blaze. "Special move! Immortal Flame!"

There was bright light in the sky and Max cheered as an explosion occurred and was headed towards Ijiraq.

"Special move," replied Winta calmly. "Gla-Shier Frost Bite!"

A shield of ice suddenly appeared around Ijiraq and Blaze watched shocked, as the explosion didn't harm Ijiraq in any way.

"Mana may have lost but I will gain victory for my team!" declared Winta. "Special move! Freeze Blizzard Piercing Blitz!"

Ijiraq spun to the edge of the arena, then went up the side and shot up into the air. The bey was then surrounded by blue aura and icy blizzard.

Everyone watched as the arena was frozen, trapping Phoenix in the ice.

"End this!" cried Winta.

Her bey fell and smashed into Phoenix from above with a bang. There was an explosion and everyone watched as the dust cleared. Phoenix was at Blaze's feet, while Ijiraq remained spinning.

"And we have a winner!" announced Jones. "Winta! That means each team has a win now!"

Blaze picked up her bey and walked over to her team.

"Sorry I lost," apologized Blaze.

"What matters is, is that you conquered your fears," stated Max. "Besides, we are still going to win this."

* * *

><p><strong>"That wasn't a bad match," said the Dark Figure as he took another sip of his wine. "But so far, I haven't seen much except for when the boy used that power. But this is the perfect way to find those who can help us." <strong>

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued: Next time-Simon VS Ninel-<strong>

**Simon faces off against Ninel in an epic clash. In the final battle to decide which team will move on, it ends in the most unexpected way. **

**This wasn't the best chapter, I know don't hate me. But I'll try to make the next one better. Please read and review! **


	10. Chapter 10: An Unexpected Event

**It's the 3****rd**** battle of the 1****st**** round. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and please review! **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10: An unexpected Event <strong>

"And now for the final battle for the round," announced Mr. Jones.

Everyone's attention was diverted to the big screen as it flashed with images.

**Simon Nikso VS Ninel Lucia Velasquez Bychkov**

"I'm in," said Simon a he walked to the center of the stadium.

"It's finally my time," said Ninel as she walked to the arena.

The two foes starred at each other while the crowd was cheering.

'If I win this match we go into the semi finals,' thought Max. 'So losing here is not an option.'

'I'll show everyone here that Team Frostbite deserves to win,' thought Ninel. 'I will win.'

"Prepare to lose!" declared Simon.

"I don't think so!" replied Ninel. "You'll have to beat my Permafrost Alicorn to do that!"

Ninel held out her bey Alicorn to for everyone to see. It had a white and iris blue energy ring that also had patters on it that resembled the hooves and mane of an alicorn. The fusion wheel was circular and had 6 miniature gaps in it. The face bolt was silver and printed on it was the face of a white alicorn with an iris blue mane and horn. The spin track was an iris blue and had a semi-flat performance tip coloured white.

"Bring it!" declared Simon as he readied his bey.

"Watch as I win!" stated Ninel as she readied her bey also.

"You better win this Simon," said Max.

"We need you to win," added Blaze.

"3!" cried the crowd.

"2!" added Simon.

"1!" finished Ninel.

"Let it rip!"

Gryphos and Alicorn spun into battle and the crowd cheered.

"Charge Gryphos!" commanded Simon and his bey charged.

"Tear him apart Alicorn!" commanded Ninel and her bey charged.

The two beys hit dead on and sparks went flying. Eventually, the attacks canceled each other out and the beys moved away and circled the arena.

"Attack!" cried Simon.

"Counterattack!" exclaimed Ninel.

The two beys clashed yet again but neither was able to overpower the other.

"You're not trying hard enough," said a voice.

Simon sighed as a dragon human hybrid spirit called Drake appeared.

"Not now," replied Simon.

"Just try harder," replied Drake stubbornly before vanishing.

"Go Gryphos!" roared Simon.

Gryphos suddenly managed to push back Alicorn slightly and then pushed it back a bit more.

"That's my man," cheered Max.

"Don't get ahead of yourself!" interrupted Ninel. "Go Alicorn!"

Alicorn pushed back and Gryphos was knocked away.

"There power is even," commented Kiara. "This will be a tough match."

'Okay,' thought Simon. 'Attacking like this isn't going to do anything. Our power is to evenly matched. So I need a new approach.'

"Power up Gryphos!" commanded Simon.

Gryphos went to the edge of the arena and began to spin around.

'He's must be going for a special move,' thought Ninel. 'So this is the perfect time to use my own.'

"Go Alicorn!" exclaimed Ninel and her bey did the same as Gryphos.

"Now!" cried Simon. "Special move! Burst Blast!"

Gryphos covered itself in flames and sped towards Alicorn.

Ninel smiled and said, "Special move. Glacial Spin!"

Alicorn stopped circling but it began to spin faster. The performance tip froze and arena was suddenly covered in ice.

"Then I'll break through!" declared Max as Gryphos used the flames covering it to break through the ice.

"Special move!" shouted Ninel. "Frost Light!"

A white unicorn wearing silver armour with wings appeared. The horn and its mane was also an iris blue colour.

'Another special move!' panicked Simon in his mind.

The crowd watched as the wings of Alicorn charged up with energy, and by the time Gryphos had managed to get to the opposing bey, it unleashed a crippling iris blue stream of light that smashed into Gryphos.

Gryphos was flung into the air and Ninel gave a cheer but stopped when Simon smiled.

"Special move!" piped up Simon. "Wingtip Scorcher!"

Gryphos in the sky was set ablaze before charging down towards Alicorn.

A griffon and dragon hybrid appeared and charged down at the winged unicorn.

"I'm not out yet!" interrupted Ninel. "Crystallization Shield!"

A shield of ice formed around the winged unicorn and Alicorn.

"I'll break through then!" declared Simon as his bey smashed into the shield.

However, the shield was able to hold and the bey was deflected back into the sky.

The shield vanished and Ninel was about to charge up energy to use her special move again.

The winged unicorn's wings began to charge energy but Simon was ready.

"Oh no you don't!" cried Simon. "Special move! Skydive Blaze Strike!"

Gryphos covered itself in flames yet again and charged downwards more quickly.

Ninel had no time to react and the dragon griffon hybrid smashed through the winged unicorn while Gryphos smashed into Alicorn.

There was an explosion and when the dust cleared, both beys were still spinning.

"I have to put this away fast," said Ninel as she huffed and puffed. "Special move! Tour De Glace!"

Alicorn suddenly multiplied and Simon was helpless as the clones stacked up on top of his bey. The clones then froze as well as Gryphos.

"Attack now!" commanded Ninel and Alicorn charged.

"Gryphos Dragon: Descend! Special move! Inferno Destruction Ultimatum!"

The bey unleashed an inferno that knocked back Alicorn and smashed the ice tower apart. There was an explosion of ice and Gryphos charged and smashed into Alicorn.

Alicorn was thrown back but powered on through and held even with Gryphos.

"It's time to end this," stated Simon. "I know you've got one more card left to play. Because I do too. I also know that these cards are our aces. So, the deck is stacked, let the cards decide our fate. Don't hold back."

"Couldn't have said it better myself," replied Ninel. "Let's finish this!"

The two beys began to circle the arena and powered up for a final attack.

"Special move!" roared Ninel. "Dark Blizzard!"

Ninel concentrated hard and a dark snow blizzard suddenly raged through the arena.

"What in the world?" questioned Max.

"Its some kind of storm," replied Kiara.

"I've never seen anything like this," added Blaze.

The lights dimmed and people stopped herring as the blizzard raged throughout the arena.

"My move!" roared Simon. "Gryphos Dragon: Descend! Special move! Turbo Inferno Destructor Ultimatum!"

The bey was ignited with flames and the flames then exploded and smashed into the storm head on.

"Goooooooooooooooooooooo!" exclaimed Simon and Ninel as their special moves clashed.

Everyone watched as the moves they unleashed a huge explosion. When the dust cleared, both Ninel and Simon were lying on the ground all battered and bruised from the final battle.

Everyone gasped as the dust cleared to reveal that both beys had stopped.

"It's a draw," said Max.

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><p><strong>"Amazing," stated the Dark Figure. "Both of those kids hold tremendous power within their beys. Both are unique. The boy can see spirits while the Girl has no idea what her past life holds. Both hold ancient power." <strong>

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><p><strong>To be continued: Next time-Max &amp; Kiara VS Ninel &amp; Winta-<strong>

**With the last match ending in a draw, Max and Kiara head into a tag team match against Ninel and Winta. Who will win, who will lose and who will go on into the semi finals? And, what did the Dark Figure mean by 'Past Life and 'Ancient Power?' **

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><p><strong>Hope you all enjoyed this epic chapter; the unexpected event was a draw! Sorry if you thought this was a bit of a lame unexpected event. But please review! <strong>


	11. Chapter 11: Tag Team Trials

**Here we have chapter 11 and the final battle for this round. Will Max and Kiara be able to defeat Ninel and Winta? And even more of the Dark Figure's agenda is revealed. Please read and review! **

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><p><strong>Chapter 11: Tag Team Trials<strong>

"The final battle is a tie," announced Mr. Jones.

"Simon!" cried Max as he and the rest of his team ran up to the inured Simon.

"Ninel!" cried Mana as she and Winta ran up to the injured Ninel.

Max and Blaze were quick with helping Simon up and began to carry him away while Mana and Winta did the same with Ninel.

"We will take a short break," announced Mr. Jones. "But the tie breaker will be a tag team match, and each team must choose who will battle."

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><p><strong>"Splendid," chuckled the Dark Figure as he clapped his hands lightly. "So far, we have discovered more then one thing to help our plan succeed."<strong>

**"Indeed," replied the Male Cloaked Figure.**

**"This is perfect," added the Female Cloak Figure. **

**"The Boy who has Flame Swordsman wields the ultimate power, the boy with Gryphos holds the power of ancient warriors and the girl with Alicorn is the reincarnation of a past ancient. And even through the TV, I can sense power coming from the other girl on Team Nova Flare. A power even greater then the ancient one, the power of Yin & Yang. A power that is believed to match that of the Ultimate power," stated the Dark Figure. **

**The three laughed evilly and the Dark Figure took another sip of wine. **

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><p>In the room for their team, Nova Flare was placing their teammate Simon on a bed.<p>

"I think I'll be fine," muttered Sam. "That battle took a lot out of me."

"It was definitely close," replied Max. "I mean, both of you unleashed your ultimate moves at once."

"It was super intense," added Kiara.

"You tried your best," added Blaze. "But now we have to win the tie breaker tag team match."

"I'll go in," declared Max. "I've had the longest rest then anyone else."

"I'll go too," added Kiara. "I've yet to battle, so they won't know any of my moves or strategies. Giving us an advantage."

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><p>Ninel was sitting on the bed looking at Alicorn as she clutched it in her hand.<p>

"I guess it's you and me Winta," said Mana.

"No," interrupted Ninel as she looked up. "I'm going to battle."

Ninel stood up and both Winta and Mana looked at her.

"But your injured," stated Mana.

"I just know I need too," added Ninel. "Winta, I want you to be my partner."

"I guess that's fine with me," replied Mana. "But you two better win."

* * *

><p>Max and Kiara entered the stadium and went to the arena. Simon and Blaze entered also and watched from the sidelines.<p>

Ninel, Winta and Mana entered the stadium. Ninel and Winta walked to the arena while Mana stood at the sidelines.

**Tie Breaker Match: Max Smith & Kiara Summers VS Ninel Lucia Velasquez Bychkov & Winta Blythe**

"Alright!" announced Jones. "Let the tie breaker match begin."

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><p><strong>"This match will allow me to see if the girl is truly wields the Yang power," commented the Dark Figure. "This will be a good match to watch." <strong>

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><p>"3!" cried Ninel and Winta.<p>

"2!" added Max and Kiara.

"1!" finished the crowd.

"Let it rip!"

The four beys spun into battle.

"Attack Solaria!" commanded Kiara and her bey sped forward.

"You too Swordsman!" added Max and his bey charged also.

Swordsman smashed into Alicorn while Solaria attacked Ijiraq.

At first, Nova Flare's beys were pushing back Frostbite's, but their beys eventually pushed back and evened the battle.

"Special move!" cried Winta. "Ijiraq! Nostril Frost Blast!"

The humanoid moose appeared and unleashed a huge wave of wind that knocked back Swordsman and Solaria and also threw them to the other side of the arena.

"Not bad!" complemented Max. "But I can do better! Special move! Flame Spiral!"

A spiraling stream of fire shot from Swordsman's blade and was headed towards Ijiraq.

"Gla-Shear Frostbite!" shouted Winta and an ice shield surrounded her bey and the blast was negated.

"Now for an attack!" interrupted Ninel as her bey charged forward. "Special move! Tour De Glace!"

Clones of Alicorn appeared and stacked up on Swordsman. They then froze and trapped Swordsman.

"Heat this up Swordsman!" cried Max as his bey attempted to melt the ice.

"To bad!" exclaimed Ninel. "I'll have attacked by the time you break free!"

"I don't think so!" interrupted Kiara. "Special move! Solaria! Firestorm Fury!"

Solaria unleashed a wave of fire that crashed into Alicorn and sent in flying back.

Meanwhile, Swordsman had managed to generate enough heat to break free.

Swordsman spun to the edge of the arena and shot up into the air.

"Special move!" roared Max. "Flame Sword Slash!"

The Red Knight appeared and slashed at Ijiraq. The opposing bey was sent flying but managed to stay in the game.

"Now!" commanded Kiara. "Queen Lioness Rising Sundance!"

Solaria began to circle Alicorn and created a blinding light. When Solaria had moved away, Alicorn had slowed down.

"Glacial Spin!" ordered Ninel and her bey turned the arena to ice.

Max and Kiara struggled to get their beys to move properly, but they were struggling.

"Time to attack Winta," said Ninel.

"Right," replied Winta.

"Frost Light!" exclaimed Ninel and the winged unicorn began to store energy in its wings.

"Freezing Blizzard Piercing Blitz!" shouted Winta as her bey was flung into the air and then was surrounded by blue aura and a blizzard.

"Goooooooo!" roared Ninel and Winta as they unleashed their attacks.

A stream of light blasted its way towards Solaria when Kiara cried, "Flame Barrier!"

Like its name, a barrier of fire appeared and protected Solaria from Alicorn's attack.

Ijiraq rushed towards Swordsman and Max had no idea what to do.

"Go Swordsman!" roared Max.

The Red Knight held its sword out in front and believe it or not, Ijiraq couldn't get through and was thrown back.

"How did he survive?" questioned Winta.

'His bey didn't even use a special move,' thought Ninel. 'Yet it managed to repel Ijiraq's attack.'

_"You have the power to do more then that," said the Voice. _

"I don't how I did it," said Max. "But I did it. And now it's payback time!"

"Right," agreed Kiara.

"Go Swordsman!" cheered Max as his bey flew into the air.

'He's going for Phoenix Fury!' panicked Ninel. 'I have to use Dark Blizzard to counter'

"Winta," said Ninel. "I'm going to end this."

"Then do it," replied Winta.

"Special move!" roared Ninel. "Dark Blizzard!"

The blizzard of black snow erupted through the stadium and then went to overwhelm Solaria.

Kiara just smiled however.

"You can't escape," declared Ninel.

"Who said anything about escaping," replied Kiara. "Special move! Solaria! Fire Light Wall!"

A wall of fire appeared around Solaria and as the blizzard came to attack the bey, it was thrown back at Alicorn.

Ninel cried out as the blizzard smashed into her and her bey with a loud crash.

As the blizzard came to hit Ijiraq, Winta cried "Special move! Gla-Shear Frostbite!"

A shield of ice appeared around Ijiraq and took a beating from the blizzard and managed to survive. But there was still one attack left to be blocked.

Red aura surrounded Max and his eyes were filled with fire.

"Special move!" exclaimed Max. "Phoenix Fury!"

The flaming phoenix illuminated the arena before giving a screech and diving down.

The phoenix then turned into a wave that blasted away the remains of the shield and threw back Winta and defeated Ijiraq.

"And the team that will pass into the semi-finals is Team Nova Flare!" announced Jones.

"Yes!" cheered Kiara and Max as they high fived.

* * *

><p><strong>"Brilliant," said the dark Figure. "That girl, Kiara Summers, she is definitely the one who holds the Yang power. How splendid." <strong>

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued: <strong>

**Hope you all enjoyed this tiebreaker, and all I can tell you about the next chapter is that it will involve Team King Destructors. Please review! **


	12. Chapter 12: Darkness on the move

**What's up peeps? Here we have the twelfth chapter. I hope you all enjoy and PLEASE REVIEW! **

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><p><strong>Chapter 12: Darkness on the move<strong>

"That was a splendid match indeed," said the Dark Figure as he stood up and walked to the window.

"Indeed," replied the Male Cloaked Figure.

"This school is full of kids who will help our cause," said the Dark Figure.

Suddenly, the Female Cloaked Figure appeared and bowed.

"I have news for you My Lord," said the Female Cloaked Figure.

"Go on," replied the Dark Figure.

"When you sensed the Dark Retribution power was near, you were correct," said the Female Cloaked Figure. "A student here holds that power, and I have captured her."

"Excellent," said the Dark Figure as he and his disciples exited the room and came to a dark room where the student was being held captured.

The student was a girl that had black hair that went down to her waist. She was wearing a green hoodie over a white t-shirt and also wore jeans.

The Girl looked up as the three figures approached.

"Hello," said the Dark Figure. "And what is your name?"

"Artemis," replied the Girl bluntly. "Artemis Sakura."

"Well Artemis," said the Dark Figure as he walked around the room. "You are very special. You hold what we call the Dark Retribution power. It is something we want to use for our own gain. We need you to bring out your dark side. And we will do so with a bey battle."

The Male Cloaked Figure went up to Artemis and unlocked her chains. He then grabbed her and led her into another room with a bey arena.

She was pushed to one side and saw that a man stood at the other. He had spiky black hair and wore glasses. He was wearing a grey suit and she quickly recognized him as Professor Viper.

"Professor Viper is one of my many societies," stated the Dark Figure. "You will be battling him."

"Prepare to lose to my Dark Serpent," spat Viper as he held out his bey.

The bey had a silver fusion wheel that was shaped so it had twelve spikes. The energy ring was green and shaped like snakes. The spin track was red and had three wings. The performance tip was black and was semi defense. The face bolt had the picture of a snake on it.

"I don't think so!" replied Artemis. "I'll never lose as long as I have Silver Huntress!"

Artemis held out her bey. It had a gold face bolt, silver fusion wheel and a blue energy ring.

The tow readied their beys for battle.

"Just remember Artemis,' Warned the Dark Figure. "You won't be able to rely on your dark powers for this battle."

The Dark Figure held up his right hand and dark energy came from it and surrounded the arena.

"The dark power is now null and void," finished the Dark Figure, but was ignored by Artemis.

"3!" cried Artemis.

"2!" added Viper.

"1!" finished the Dark Figure, chuckling maliciously as he did so.

"Let it rip!" roared Viper and Artemis simultaneously.

The two beys spun into battle.

"Poison her Serpent!" commanded Viper.

His bey shot forward and smashed into Huntress.

"Push back Huntress!" exclaimed Artemis.

Huntress began to push back when something unexpected happened; the bey suddenly moved away and began to move strangely throughout the arena.

"What's happening?" asked Artemis.

"You have been injected with poison," spat Viper. "Any bey that hits Serpent is punished by getting a jolt of poison that makes your bey go crazy."

"Darn it," cursed Artemis as she managed to regain control of her bey.

"Now attack!" roared Viper.

Serpent shot forward and smashed into Huntress.

"Run Huntress!" shouted Artemis.

"You can't run!" barked Viper.

Serpent chased Huntress around the arena and eventually caught up to it.

"Now then!" grinned Viper. "Special move! Poison Fang Crunch!"

A dark green snake appeared and took a bite at Huntress.

As this happened, Artemis screamed as she felt like she was being stabbed in the back by two knives. She fell to her knees and began to tear up.

"What was that?" asked Artemis uneasily.

"This is a battle were we feel the pain our beys do," explained the Dark Figure.

'What kind of sick game is this?' thought Artemis.

"Now attack again!" roared Viper.

His bey smashed into Huntress again and again and again.

Artemis cried out as she felt like someone was continuously punching her. She fell to her knees and continued to cry.

"Yes," said the Dark Figure. "The pain she feels will increase the dark powers energy."

"Infinite Fang Strike!" commanded Viper with a twisted smirk.

His bey released a horde of snakes that surrounded Huntress and began to whip it with their tales.

Artemis screamed as she felt parts of her body being whipped. By this time, Artemis was bruised and had red marks all over her body.

"Now again!" spat Viper. "Special move! Ultimate Pound!"

A green snake appeared and sent a shattering head butt at Huntress. The bey went flying and Artemis grabbed at her stomach where the pain was radiating from.

"Yes more, more," demanded the Dark Figure.

Viper grinned evilly as he prepared to attack again.

"Enough!" roared Artemis as she looked at Viper with angry eyes. "I may be unable to tap into my dark powers, but that doesn't mean I can't win!"

Huntress charged forward and smashed into Serpent and sent it flying.

"What!" snapped Viper. "Impossible!"

"Nothing is impossible!" replied Artemis. "Let me show you! Attack Huntress!"

Huntress charged and smashed Serpent into the other side of the arena again.

Huntress then began to send a mirage of attacks at Serpent.

Viper gritted his teeth in disgust that he was losing.

"Strangle of Doom!" interrupted Viper as he tried to ignore the pain he was getting.

Serpent managed to dodge an attack from Huntress and then began to spin around it.

A green snake appeared and wrapped around a silver huntress and squeezed. At the same time, Artemis felt like she was being strangled and screamed.

The Dark Figure smiled as he watched the battle.

'How is this a fair battle,' thought Artemis.

"I love when people squirm in my grasp!" spat Viper. "You are my prey, and I am the predator. I have you caught in my trap so don't try to escape!"

'Why in the world would they hire a nut job like this to teach?' thought Artemis.

"I want to make you suffer!" taunted Viper. "To make you scream in pain. To make you scream until your voice refuses to scream any longer! I want to see you feel misery and to feel like you are being ripped apart! I want to see you writhe in pain!"

Artemis cursed at Viper and slowly stood up.

"No way am I losing to a nut job like you!" snapped Artemis. "Prepare to lose! Charge Huntress!"

Huntress shot forward and smashed into Serpent. Serpent held its ground and the two attacks hit dead on.

"Don't underestimate my power!" roared Viper and his bey pushed back Huntress.

"I won't lose!" exclaimed Artemis and her bey pushed back.

"You think this is a battle where we are both evenly matched?" spat Viper. "You are mistaken! This is a game of cat and mouse, you are the mouse and I am the cat!"

"Well the mouse is about to move up on the food chain!" replied Artemis. "Keep going Huntress!"

The two beys clashed with all their power, each blader feeling the pain as their bey took hits.

Eventually, Serpent managed to hit hard and knocked Huntress into the air.

"Now to use an aerial attack!" declared Artemis. "Charge down Huntress!"

The bey flew downwards and smashed into Serpent.

Viper cried out as he grabbed his head and the pain rushed through it.

"Good," chuckled the Dark Figure. "I've seen enough. Her power has grown strong enough. End this Professor Viper."

"As you wish Master," replied Viper.

Serpent managed to get out of the way of Huntress' attack and began to circle the arena.

"Prepare to lose!" snorted Viper. "Dark move!"

"Now way!" cried Artemis. "Not a dark move."

"Say goodnight!" laughed Drake evilly. "Fang Fury Blast!"

Drake held his arms out and orbs of dark energy came to his hands. He then threw the energy into his bey and the green snake appeared. The snake's mouth charged with energy and then unleashed it upon Huntress.

Artemis cried out as the attack sent her flying into the wall with a loud thwack. Her bey was then thrown out of the arena also and crashed to the ground.

"Good, good," said the Dark Figure as he clapped and walked over to the injured Artemis. "Now that the dark energy had been built up I will now release that while taking control of you. You won't be able to turn back and your dark side will do whatever I want."

The Dark Figure held out his hand and dark energy flowed from it into Artemis.

"No," begged Artemis. "Stop. You don't what you're doing."

"I know exactly what I'm doing," answered the Dark Figure.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Artemis in pain as the dark energy poured into her.

"Don' worry," assured the Dark Figure. "It will be over soon."

Artemis screamed and screamed until she suddenly stopped.

"It has been done," said the Dark Figure.

Artemis stood up, her hair covering her eyes and ark aura radiating from her.

"I am at your command master," said Artemis with an evil smile.

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued: <strong>

**A new battle between teams begins next chapter! And what about Artemis and the Dark Figure? Please review! **


	13. Chapter 13: In the Dark

**Here we have chapter 13! I hope you all enjoy this chapter! I said the next chapter was going to be the next battle of the tournament but I changed my mind. Still, I hope you like it. ****PLEASE READ AND REVIEW****! **

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><p><strong>Chapter 13: In the Dark<strong>

**_"It has been so long since I gained conscious. That day when those humans found me was the best day of my life. I used them to gain power and to slowly energize myself. Yet, I am still not at full power. I am yet to gain the full power I need to finish what my creator started. I was in a furious rage when I discovered my creator had been destroyed. I didn't know what to do, except get revenge. I will destroy the ones who defied my creator. They will pay dearly. But I will get them back and seal the world in eternal darkness. I can sense the ancient power that exists here at this academy. A boy wields the power that the Legendary Crimson Hero once held. A boy holds the power of ancient warriors. There is more then one Yin Yang power existing here. And once I consume their power, I shall rise once again and conquer this world. I will begin what Nemesis started! I will punish the Legendary Bladers and make them suffer! I will cloud this world in darkness and become the ruler of the world! I shall become the new Nemesis! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!"_**

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><p><strong>To be continued: <strong>

**Short chapter, I know, don't hate me but I decided to do this chapter now. And as you can see, this mysterious foe is pulling all of the strings and was created by Nemesis. I forgot to mention this; this story takes place in between Metal Fury and Shogun Steel. Please review! **


	14. Chapter 14: Fear the Huntress

**I'm finally posting the first chapter of the second round battle. Also, this was delayed being put on the website due to Internet problems, sorry. **

**Also, please read and ****REVIEW!**** I'm getting fewer reviews every chapter so please review! **

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><p><strong>Chapter 14: Fear the Huntress<strong>

Team Nova Flare took their seats in the stands to watch the next match between Team King Destructors and Team Fiore.

"Welcome to the next battle of the first round," announced Mr. Jones. "This time we have the Jupiter dorm's Team King Destructors taking on the Spring's dorm Team Fiore. First off we will introduce Team Fiore! She is known as Ai, Cherry and Cat, give it up for Frieda Belvini Love!"

Frieda entered the stadium and waved to the crowd. She was wearing a pink t-shirt with a black heart in the middle on it. The heart also had Ai written in it, which is Japanese for love. She was also wearing a pink bracelet, a black mini skirt, and brown boots just below her knees. Lastly, she wore a polka dot ribbon in her cherry coloured hair.

"Next up is the blader who loves being called Ace," continued Jones.

Some kids laughed as they had told him that Grace loved been called Ace even thought she hated it.

"Let's give it up for Grace Styles!" continued Jones.

Grace walked into the arena and quickly shot a deathly look at the kids who were laughing.

"And finally," added Jones. "We have Kai Axel!"

A boy entered the stadium and began to wave to the crowd. He was wearing a black long sleeved t-shirt and green elbow guards. He also wore black shorts that puffed out a bit at the bottom and wrist guards covered by fingerless yellow gloves. Lastly, he wore green boots with silver markings on them.

"And now to introduce Team King Destructors," said Jones. "First off we have Jaden Grace."

The crowd cheered as Jaden entered and waved to the crowd with a big grin plastered on her face.

"Next up is the blader known as the Destruction Bringer, give a round of applause to Luke Portadonnez!"

Luke entered the arena and waved to the crowd.

At this point in time, a short boy sat next to Team Nova Flare and had a worried look on his face.

"And last but not least," continued Jones. "The blader known as Moon Blossom, give it up for Artemis Sakura!"

Artemis stepped into the stadium. She didn't wave and had her face covered by her hair.

"Artemis," said the Boy sadly.

"Something wrong?" asked Max.

"It's Artemis," replied the Boy.

"What about her?" asked Max.

"She's my friend, and she disappeared for 2 hours. When she came back she completely ignored me and locked herself in her room. She's been acting all cold as well. I think something's happened to her."

Everyone looked up at the screen to see images flashing. They eventually stopped and revealed the first match.

**Frieda Belvini Love VS Artemis Sakura**

Frieda and Artemis stepped forward.

"Prepare to fall to my bey Ray Virgo," declared Frieda as she held up her bey. It had a pink energy ring, a silver fusion wheel, the spin track was rich in balance, thick in physique, and coloured a sparkling lavender.

Artemis just smiled and said, "Welcome to your worst nightmare."

Frieda and Artemis readied their beys and prepared to battle.

"3!" cried Frieda.

"2!" added Artemis in a cold tone.

"1!" finished the crowd.

"Let it rip!"

Huntress and Virgo spun into battle.

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><p><strong><em>"Time to test Artemis' true power," said the Dark Figure with a smirk. "The Master will be pleased if those goes well. Now, Artemis, unleash the Dark Retribution power." <em>**

* * *

><p>"Attack Huntress!" spat Artemis and her bey smashed into Virgo and sent it flying. The bey landed in the other side of the arena and Huntress attacked it again.<p>

"Run!" commanded Frieda.

Virgo managed to regain balance and began to run away.

"You can run but you can't hide!" spat Artemis.

Huntress began to give off dark energy and the bey sped up and smashed into Virgo.

The crowd watched as Virgo was sent into the air and Artemis put on a twisted smile.

"Special move!" roared Artemis. "Rage of the Hunt!"

The Huntress, a dark purple and black instead of silver appeared and began slashing at Virgo.

The bey then fell to the ground with a sickening crunch, but had managed to survive.

"This is fun!" chuckled Artemis evilly.

'Why is she talking like that?' thought Frieda. 'She's talking all weirdly. And I can feel some weird sensation.'

'When Artemis attacked,' thought Max. 'I felt something strange. And, I can feel a strange vibe coming from her.'

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><p><strong><em>"Excellent," said the Dark Figure. "Now use more power."<em>**

* * *

><p>"Now it's my turn to attack!" declared Frieda. "Special move! Aura!"<p>

A mistress wearing a roman dress appeared. She was mainly light pink colour and had golden blonde hair, baby blue eyes and wearing a silver crown.

Virgo charged and continuously smashed into Huntress while the Mistress began to attack the purple Huntress.

Huntress was knocked across the arena and the Mistress continuously attacked the Huntress.

"Take that!" cried Frieda.

Artemis smirked evilly and replied, "That doesn't hurt a bit."

Suddenly, Huntress pushed back and smacked Virgo into the other side of the arena.

"How did she do that!" questioned Frieda.

Dark aura was radiating from Artemis and was beginning to cloud the arena in darkness.

'That isn't apart of her special move,' thought Max in panic. 'This is some kind of…dark power.'

"Sink into deepest darkness," spat Artemis. "Special move! Silver Arrow!"

The Huntress appeared and shot a silver arrow at Virgo. The bey was knocked into the air and upon landing was wobbling greatly.

'No way,' thought Frieda. 'How could she have done this much damage to me in such a short time?'

"This isn't over!" declared Frieda as Huntress went to attack again. "Special move! Light Sphere!"

A light shield appeared around Virgo and blocked another arrow.

"Oh," spat Artemis. "Sparkly. Well, attack Huntress!"

Huntress charged and began to send a mirage of attacks at the shield.

"Keep going Huntress," commanded Artemis with a twisted smile.

Eventually, the shield was broken and Frieda decided to move on the offensive.

"Special move!" exclaimed Frieda. "Status!"

Virgo released a shining light and Huntress began to slow down.

"This will finish it!" declared Frieda.

"I don't think so!" replied Artemis. "Go Nightmare mode!"

Huntress began to change and Artemis smirked as her bey began to give off a dark energy that blocked out the light.

"Now!" stated Artemis. "Nightmare Song! This will stop you from using that last move again!"

"What!" cried Frieda.

"Now to end this!" roared Artemis. "Go! Nightmare Arrow!"

Huntress shot a black arrow at the center of the stadium and there was an extremely loud bang. Suddenly, cracks began to appear within the arena and dark energy began to burst from them.

Frieda watched in pure horror as the dark energy began slashing at her and her bey.

The crowd watched awestruck as the dark energy rose up and began the slash at the roof of the stadium.

The energy then began to flow around the stadium, and some kids were freaking out.

'What is this…power?' thought Max with sweat running down his face.

_"A twisted power," replied the Voice. "A power that had to be sealed within the bloodline of a family. This girl has managed to release the power and has become possessed by it."_

"Possessed," murmured Max.

Things couldn't get any worse, but they did. Frieda watched in fear as the dark power began to swallow her up and se screamed as she was trapped in one of her worst nightmares.

"HELP! NO! STOP! PLEASE STOP! GO AWAY!" screamed Frieda in fear.

The crowd had stopped cheering now and was just watching as the dark energy was continuing to wreck havoc with Frieda and her bey.

* * *

><p><strong><em>"Good," said the Dark Figure. "Now finish it. I've seen enough."<em>**

* * *

><p>Artemis looked up and dark energy burst from her.<p>

"End this Huntress!" roared Artemis as the purple and black Huntress appeared and smashed the bottom of the stadium and created an explosion of dark energy.

Frieda cried out as the explosion sent her flying into the back wall and the same went for her bey.

The dark energy retracted into Artemis, she recalled her bey and walked off.

'That was the twisted power,' thought Max.

_'Indeed,' replied the Voice. 'It is a dangerous power that was never supposed to be used.'_

Some teachers came and placed the badly injured Frieda and her bey on a stretcher and walked off to the hospital wing.

The crowd was looking uneasy at each other and so was Mr. Jones.

* * *

><p><strong><em>"Splendid," commented the Dark Figure as he clapped his hands. "The power is just as great as expected. And each time her power will grow stronger. Now to find the remaining students who will help our cause."<em>**

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><p><strong>To be continued: <strong>

**Once again, sorry for late update, Internet problems. But I still got it today yet it was much later in the day then I usually do. Any way, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and please review! **


	15. Chapter 15: Destructors Rise

**Here we have chapter 15, and I am so close to getting 100 reviews for this story! I really want everyone to continue to review! Anyway, here is the next chapter. Also, there is a super special note at the end of the chapter everyone must read!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 15: Destructors Rise <strong>

"Don't worry kids," announced Mr. Jones. "We have word that Frieda will be fine. And now that the arena has been fixed when can commence to the next match."

"Hold up," interrupted Jaden and everyone's attention was suddenly focused on Jaden. "We want a tag team battle! Me and Luke versus Kai and Grace!

Jones thought about it for a while before deciding, "I'll allow this, if Grace and Kai agree to it."

"I think I'd rather battle on my own thank you," replied Grace stubbornly. "Right Kai."

Grace death starred Kai and he squealed before replying, "Uh I agree with Grace."

"Scared you'll lose Ace," taunted Jaden.

"Shut up!" spat Grace.

"That's it," added Luke. "She's sacred that she's going to lose, so she's hoping that Kai will get picked in the single battle and she won't have to fight one of us."

"Excuse me!" snapped Grace. "I dare you to say that again!"

"I'll say it as many times as I want," replied Luke.

"We accept!" roared Grace.

'What a fool,' thought Jaden. 'I knew it would be easy to convince her to this battle.'

"Okay then," said Jones. "The next match will be a tag team battle. Jaden and Luke versus Grace and Kai. Let the match begin."

The four readied their beys while Kai held his up fro the crowd to see.

"I'm going to rock this battle with Apatosaurus!" declared Kai.

The bey had a blue face bolt with a yellow Apatosaurus symbol on it and brown earth tremor marks. The energy ring was crystal green, had mucky-yellow coloured edges on one side while the other side had green streaks. The fusion wheel was a stone dirt colour and had jagged edges. The spin track is very tall and is light toned brown in colour. Lastly, the performance tip was wide and is light stone brown colour with yellow accents that reach up someway to the spin track.

"Just try and tangle with my bey Venom Serpiente!" declared Jaden as she held up her bey.

The bey had a green face bolt with the outline of a serpent on it. The energy ring was green and had green snake like fang marks on them. The fusion wheel was silver while the spin track was green and the performance tip silver.

The four readied their beys and prepared for battle.

"3!" cried Grace and Kai.

"2!" added Jaden and Luke.

"1!" finished the crowd.

"Let it rip!"

The four beys spun into battle and Grace quickly went on the offensive.

'I'm going to end this quick,' thought Grace.

"Special move!" cried Grace. "Special move! Flaming Fury!"

Purple aura suddenly surrounded Virgo and the whole field was set ablaze.

"Take this!" spat Grace.

Jaden just smirked and said, "Luke. Would you do the honors?"

"With pleasure," replied Luke as he cracked his knuckles. "Special move! Destruction Bringer!"

The golden man appeared and began to spin around the field. As the man spun, he created darkness that overwhelmed and put out the flames.

"So sorry," spat Luke.

"I have more then one way to put you in your place!" roared Grace. "Charge Virgo!"

Virgo spun forward when Jaden interrupted. "I'm sorry! But we don't allow dorks to beat us! Special move! Serpiente's Misery!"

A black serpent with jade glowing eyes wearing a silver tiara with a jade gem on it appeared. The eyes glowed and Virgo suddenly stopped moving while the Virgo beast was turned to stone.

"What's going on?" questioned Grace.

"Your bey has been turned to stone," replied Jaden.

"I'll take it from here!" interrupted Kai.

"Not so fast!" spat Jaden. "You can join Virgo as a statue!"

The serpent now looked at Apatosaurus and the bey stopped moving while the bey beast dinosaur was turned to stone.

"This isn't good," commented Kai.

"Finish them," ordered Jaden to Luke. "I've set up the win."

"Crush them Jupiter!" roared Luke and the Golden Man charged.

The Man lifted his fists and smashed the two statues apart while the bey Jupiter itself smashed into Apatosaurus and Virgo with a bang and knocked them out of the arena.

"Piece of cake," spat Jaden as her bey returned.

"That wasn't even a challenge to us," added Luke as his bey returned also.

"I knew your anger would get the better of you," snorted Jaden as she watched as Grace feel to her knees and so did Kai.

"Pathetic," stated Luke and she and Jaden walked away.

Both Grace and Kai couldn't believe they had been defeated so easily.

"How?" questioned Grace.

"They were tough," added Kai.

"And the winners of this battle is Team King Destructors," announced Jones. "They move onto the semi finals."

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><p><strong><em>"Those two seem promising," said the Dark Figure. "They would be easy to convince to join our cause."<em>**

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued: <strong>

**I know this was a short battle, but I was trying to show how strong Jaden and Luke are as a team. Still, please review.**

**SUPER IMPORTANT NOTE YOU ALL MUST READ: **Today, I am going on a holiday and I wont be back till next week. So I will end up updating on either Thursday or Friday. Sorry for the delay, but it can't be helped. Until then, see you guys next week.


	16. Chapter 16: Into Darkness

**I'm back people! I have returned from my awesome holiday and will now give you the next chapter of the story. Also, I will be updating every day but the times in the day I will be updating will be all over the place. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Please read and review!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 16: Into Darkness<strong>

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><p>"I just love this," said the Dark Figure. "This just keeps getting better and better."<p>

The Dark Figure stood up and walked over to the window.

"Artemis will be one of our greatest pawns and will also give us more energy for the ritual to revive our master," said the Dark Figure.

"Indeed," replied the two cloaked figures.

"The time of the awakening is nearing," continued the Dark Figure. "Soon enough energy will be produced for the master to absorb and he will rise. The master will complete what Nemesis started and will seal the world in eternal darkness."

The Dark Figure turned away from the window and walked to his brown desk. He sat down and pressed a button under the desk. A TV screen rose from the front of the desk and turned on.

The screen was switching between images of a girl. She had long curly dark chocolate coloured hair and had an hourglass figure. Her eyes always seemed to be a different colour every time the screen changed to another image.

"So this is the girl," spat the Dark Figure smugly.

"Yes," replied the Female Cloaked Figure.

"We have been keeping a close eye on her as you requested," added the Male Cloaked Figure.

'The Yin Yang Goddess,' thought the Dark Figure as he watched the images and examined them carefully. The so called chosen one who will inherit the power of light while the bey inherits the darkness. A balance that must be carefully maintained. She is the perfect pawn. She will be even more useful then Artemis. Her abilities go beyond that of Artemis.'

The Dark Figure watched as the image of a crash between a car and truck appeared. It then changed to that of a funeral.

'I see,' thought the Dark Figure. 'The accident that killed her parents is what unleashed the power. The loss of her parents brought out her sorrow and despair. In order to stop her from destroying herself, the Gods chose her. She would become a light, while her bey would absorb the darkness of her heart.'

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><p><strong><em>"She will be more then a pawn. She will be the piece that puts our foe into checkmate and helps us seal the world in eternal darkness."<em>**

* * *

><p>'Yes,' thought the Dark Figure as he communicated with his master telepathically. 'Soon you will awaken and you will turn this world in one of shadows and misery. You will be the ruler of the new dark world.'<p>

* * *

><p>Max sat on a bench in the Summer Dorm courtyard. He had his arms crossed and was slouching.<p>

'What's happening,' thought Max 'I felt something strange from Artemis when she was battling. Something abnormal. Something twisted. Something evil.'

* * *

><p><em>'What is this…power?' thought Max with sweat running down his face. <em>

_"A twisted power," replied the Voice. "A power that had to be sealed within the bloodline of a family. This girl has managed to release the power and has become possessed by it."_

_"Possessed," murmured Max._

* * *

><p><em>'That was the twisted power,' thought Max.<em>

_'Indeed,' replied the Voice. 'It is a dangerous power that was never supposed to be used.'_

* * *

><p>"But why would she use this twisted power?" asked Max to himself. "If it's so dangerous why would she endanger the lives of someone she was battling?"<p>

_"Perhaps she was not responsible for her actions," suggested the Voice. _

"But who would make her do something like that?" questioned Max.

Max unfolded his arms and pulled out his bey and looked at it. His bey had some sort of hidden power, and he knew that this power was connected to the strange voice he had been hearing lately.

"Are you okay?" asked Simon as he, Blaze and Kiara approached Max.

Max looked up at his three team mates with a concerned face before standing up.

"We all know there is something wrong with Artemis," said Max with a serious look in his eye.

Max's three team mates nodded their heads in reply.

"Her power wasn't natural," commented Simon. "It was…unnatural."

"I don't even know how to describe it," added Blaze.

"There was something supernatural about her power," added Kiara. "It was, well, evil. I could feel it. Her power was pure evil. And she wanted to hurt Frieda."

"That's right," replied Max. "Her power is dangerous. And in the next round whoever she faces, they could get seriously injured. They may even be worse then Frieda was when she lost."

"So what do you want us to do?" asked Simon.

"Find out what's going on," replied Max. "I have a feeling that Artemis doing this is just the beginning of something much bigger."

* * *

><p><strong><em>"Hahahahahahahahahaha! The little brat is right. But there is nothing he can do to stop me. Artemis' descent into darkness is just the beginning of my plan. You better watch yourself boy. Because you'll never expect what I have in store for this academy. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"<em>**

* * *

><p>It was night as Team Nova Flare quietly snuck around to the Jupiter dorm courtyard. They stopped and hid behind a bush to make sure that there was no one out for a midnight stroll.<p>

"Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Blaze.

"Definitely," replied Max.

They began to move out when they heard some footsteps. They quickly ducked back behind the bushes and watched as someone entered the courtyard.

The person was none other then Artemis.

"It's her," stated Simon as they watched on.

Artemis slowly approached the fountain and kneeled in front of it.

She began to speak in some sort of strange language and Team Nova Flare watched as dark purple energy began to materialize around her. The fountain's water began to turn a dark purple and Artemis stood up and laughed manically as more dark energy appeared around her.

Max suddenly grabbed his head as a strange feeling began to surge through his brain.

"Max are you okay?" asked Kiara quietly.

"My…head," mumbled Max as images began to flash before his eyes.

"Just stay calm," suggested Blaze and Simon.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" screamed Max as red aura materialized around him and then blasted away the dark energy, catching Artemis' attention.

"You," spat Artemis as he got out her launcher and attached her bey.

"Let it rip!" roared Artemis as her bey blasted its way into the bush and unleashed a shockwave that sent Team Nova Flare flying.

Max continued to scream as his head was surging with pain.

"Run Max!" shouted Simon and he readied his bey.

"We'll hold her off!" added Kiara as she readied her bey also.

"You have to go!" ordered Blaze as she also readied her bey.

"Let it rip!"

The three beys spun into battle and clashed with Huntress.

Max began to crawl away when he finally couldn't take more of the pain and collapsed.

* * *

><p>Max awoke in a strange stone room. He stood up and walked over to a wooden door and opened it. He went down a flight of stairs and then opened another wooden door. The next room was big and there were many people watching as a pope of some sort was holding up a red sword.<p>

No one took notice of Max and he realized the man in red armour kneeling in front of the pope was his bey's beast.

Then something even more bazar caught Max's attention. In the corner of the room stood a young woman who looked exactly like Ninel.

"No way," stated Max. "Is this some kind of memory?"

Max watched as the Pope gave the Red Knight the sword and he held it up and red energy flowed into him. Everyone clapped and cheered for the Red Knight.

* * *

><p>Max's eyes burst open as he realized he was back in the real world. He watched as Artemis was sending waves of dark energy at his teammates who were doing their bests to dodge the attacks.<p>

Max stood up and ran over to his teammates.

"Max! What are you doing?" asked Simon.

"Get out of here you idiot!" demanded Blaze.

"I'm not going anywhere!" replied Max as he readied his bey. "Let it rip!"

Flame Swordsman spun towards Huntress and smashed through the dark energy. The two beys clashed and Max told his team to run.

His team did what he said. They recalled their beys and ran off.

"You made a grave mistake battling me," spat Artemis. "I will seal you in eternal darkness."

"Our battle will have to wait!" replied Max with flames in his eyes.

"Excuse me," snorted Artemis confused.

"Heat this up Swordsman!" roared Max and his bey unleashed an inferno.

The entire courtyard was lite up with flames and Max recalled his bey while Artemis unleashed a wave of dark energy that extinguished the flames. She cursed extremely loudly and then vanished into the shadows as the teachers and students from the Jupiter dorm came out to see what was going on.

Max caught up with his teammates and explained to them the memory he saw.

"This is getting more weird by the second," stated Simon as they stopped running once they were in the halls of the Summer Dorm.

"What is happening around here?" asked Blaze.

"I have no idea," replied Max. "But I know one thing. Something evil is at work here."

* * *

><p>"So you accept the conditions?" asked the Dark Figure.<p>

"Of course," replied Luke as he stood with Jaden.

"We would never pass up a chance to smash Team Nova Flare," added Jaden with a smirk.

"Excellent," replied the Dark Figure. "You will serve your purpose well."

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued: <strong>

**So, there are more mysterious and questions after reading this chapter. The next chapter should be the next battle for the tournament. Until then, please review! **


	17. Chapter 17: Calm before the Storm

**I know I said I was going to do the next battle of the Tournament but I was really busy today, so I did something different. I should have more time tomorrow and that's when I'll post the next battle for the tournament. For now, please read and review.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 17: Calm before the Storm<strong>

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><p>The Dark Figure watched as Artemis entered the room.<p>

"Hello Artemis," said the Dark Figure. "How was your day?"

Artemis just grunted in reply.

"I heard you ran into a little trouble," stated the Dark Figure. "Is that true."

Artemis didn't reply this time.

"Answer me!" roared the Dark Figure.

"Yes," replied Artemis.

The Dark Figure leaped forward, grabbed Artemis by the throat and pinned her to the wall.

"Do you know how important this is?" asked the Dark Figure angrily while choking Artemis. "If this fails a lot of bad things are going to happen to me and you."

Artemis began to mumble something and the dark Figure spat in her face.

"Don't you dare make another mistake or you'll feel my wrath," spat the Dark Figure.

He dropped Artemis and then stepped back.

"Go to hell," spat Artemis.

"Looks like you need to learn some manners," said the Dark Figure with a smirk. "It would be my pleasure to teach you some."

He held out his hand and dark energy began to flow out of it. The energy went around Artemis and picked her up. Artemis cursed as the energy began to flow into her.

"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" screamed Artemis.

"What's that you say," said the Dark Figure. "You want more. Well then, your wish is my command."

More dark energy went into Artemis and see began to thrash violently.

"Stoooooooooooooooooooooop!" screamed Artemis.

The dark energy returned to the Dark Figure's hand and Artemis fell to the ground.

"Don't fail me again," said the Dark Figure.

* * *

><p>Team Nova Flare walked down the hallway and came to a room.<p>

Max knocked on the door and it opened to reveal a nurse.

"Come in," said the Nurse and Team Nova Flare entered and they saw Frieda sleeping in a bed.

"She was a bit beat up but she's fine now," said the Nurse.

"Anything strange about her condition?" asked Max.

"Well," replied the Nurse. "We have been getting unusual brain activity."

The Nurse put an x-ray up on the wall. It was an x-ray of Frieda's head. They could see that there were small black dots all around the brain.

"What is that?" asked Simon.

"We have no idea," replied the Nurse. "But we have noticed that these black dots are growing bigger and are spreading throughout her body."

"Oh my gosh," commented Kiara.

"What is going on?" questioned Blaze.

'This has something to do with Artemis,' thought Max. 'I just know it.'

* * *

><p><em>"End this Huntress!" roared Artemis as the purple and the black Huntress appeared and smashed the bottom of the stadium and created an explosion of dark energy.<em>

_ Frieda cried out as the explosion sent her flying into the back wall and the same went for her bey._

_ The dark energy retracted into Artemis, she recalled her bey and walked off. _

* * *

><p>"We should probably go train for the next match," suggested Blaze.<p>

"Right," replied Max as the team left.

* * *

><p>Frieda walked through the dark corridors. She had no idea where she was and it was really cold.<p>

Suddenly, chains appeared from nowhere and tied her up. A black shadow emerged and laughed evilly at Frieda.

* * *

><p>Frieda's eyes burst open as she sat up in bed.<p>

"Are you okay?" asked the Nurse.

"Nightmare," replied Frieda as she panted.

The Nurse looked at the brain scanner and could see that the black dots had suddenly multiplied.

* * *

><p><strong>"Hahahahahah! My time is nearing. Soon, very soon, I will rise! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued: <strong>

**Short chapter, I know. But I was really busy. I was only able to update another of my stories because I already had the chapter finished and forgot to post it. I should have more time tomorrow thought. So please review! **


	18. Chapter 18: Growing Storm

**Here we have chapter 18, and there is a super important note at the end of this chapter you all must read. Please read and review! **

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><p><strong>Chapter 18: Growing Storm<strong>

* * *

><p>The students had packed into the stadium once more. They were impatiently waiting for the match to begin.<p>

Mr. Jones stepped up to the microphone to announce the battles. "So far, two teams have passed into the semi-final round. Team Nova Flare and Team King Destructors. Now for the next match, we will see the Mars Dorm's Team Crimson take on the Venus Dorm's Team Power Burst!"

The crowd cheered for both dorms.

"Now then," continued Jones. "We will introduce Team Power Burst. Our first blader is Linh Tuan!"

The crowd watched as a girl entered the stadium. She was wearing a yellow and white mandarin-collared knee length halter dress with light pink floral prints on it. She was also wearing a pair of light pink gloves, a black leather bey holster around her waist and gold coloured earrings.

"Our next blader is Aiya," continued Jones.

The crowd cheered as a girl with dark brown that went to her chest entered. She was wearing a plain brown long sleeved shirt and a dark purple cloak that reached down to her feet. She was also wearing long light brown pants and large socks.

'Hey I've seen that girl,' thought Max. 'She was battling that time I met Taylor.'

"And our last blader is Taylor Prince," continued Jones.

The crowd cheered yet again as Taylor appeared and waved.

"Now to introduce Team Crimson," continued Jones. "Our first balder is Morgan Blue Robinson Abyss."

Morgan entered the stadium and waved to the crowd.

"Next up is Regina," stated Jones.

A girl entered the arena and the crowd cheered. She was wearing a sea green one piece and a purple belt over the top. Underneath, she was wearing a pastel blue and white striped shirt with a pink trim. Her boots were blue and her socks were lavender. She also had a blue stripped visor and a lavender armband on her right forearm.

"And last but not least," added Jones. "Unmei."

The crowd cheered but no one else entered the arena.

Jones looked at rest of Team Crimson, the two bladers just shrugged.

"Uh," mumbled Jones. "It appears that Unmei couldn't make it. So, Team Crimson will have to battle with just two bladers."

'I wonder why she isn't here,' thought Max.

The crowd's attention was brought to the screen, which flashed with images before stopping.

**Regina VS Aiya **

"And the first battle will be between Regina and Aiya," announced Jones.

Regina and Aiya stepped up to the arena and starred at each other.

"Get ready to fall prey to my Amazonian Atlanta," stated Regina as she held up her bey. Its face bolt had a bow, arrow and the word Atlanta printed on it. The energy ring was a sea foam colour and had swirl designs on it while the silver fusion wheel had a wind design. Lastly, the performance tip and spin track were both red.

"My Poison Arachne and I will destroy you," declared Aiya as she held up her bey. It had a purple energy ring with black stripes, on top was a spider head with eight eyes and the spin track and performance tip were both black.

The two took out their launchers and got their beys ready.

"3!" cried the crowd.

"2!" added Regina.

"1!" finished Aiya.

"Let it rip!"

The two beys spun into the arena and Arachne backed away from Atlanta.

"Going on the defensive huh," commented Regina. "Then I'll come to you."

Atlanta charged forward but Arachne swiftly dodged the attack and ran.

Atlanta turned around and charged, but Arachne continued to maneuver and move away from the opposing bey.

"What kind of strategy is this?" asked Regina bluntly.

"I'm sorry," replied Aiya. "Please don't be mad at me."

Regina looked at Aiya and saw that she was ready to tear up.

The crowd stopped cheering and just watched, as Aiya was about to cry.

"I didn't mean to…" started Regina.

"Meanie," said Aiya as she began to cry.

"Awkward," commented Max.

Regina and the crowd watched as Aiya cried for about a minute before she wiped her tears away and told everyone she was ready to start.

Regina looked back at the arena with everyone else and was shocked to see that Atlanta was wobbling.

"What happened?" asked Regina. "Atlanta couldn't have used up its stamina in that time by just spinning.

Aiya smiled before laughing.

"I can't believe everyone fell for that," commented Aiya.

"Wait," said Max. "Don't tell me she."

"Show the reply," suggested Aiya.

Everyone looked up at the screen as it showed when everyone was watching Aiya cry. The crowd looked closely as it zoomed in on the arena and showed Arachne attacking Atlanta while the bey was helpless without its master to command.

"You little brat!" spat Regina.

"That's life for you," replied Aiya.

"You'll pay for that!" declared Regina. "Special move! Water Shards!"

Atlanta lit up and some waves of water were thrown at Arachne.

Aiya yawned as her bey easily dodged the attacks without trying.

Regina was getting annoyed, and she was also confused at the fact that Arachne was able to pull off such amazing maneuvers without even tipping the slightest.

"How do you have such good balance?" asked Regina.

"Think about it," replied Aiya. "A normal bey beast either has two of four legs, but a spider has eight, giving it much more balance."

"That's it!" snapped Regina. "I'm going to wipe that smirk of your face! Special move! Ground Shaker!"

The ground began to shake and create cracks, one of which Arachne ended up trapped in.

"Now I have you!" declared Regina as Atlanta built up power. "Attack!"

Atlanta shot forward and Aiya smiled.

"Special move! Sonic Web!" interrupted Aiya.

Regina waited for something to happen but nothing did.

"So much for that!" snarled Regina.

Suddenly, Atlanta stopped charging.

"Why did you stop Atlanta?" asked Regina as she then commanded her bey to move.

Atlanta began to charge again before stopping once more.

"Why is my bey stopping?" questioned Regina.

"Did you forget my special move?" asked Aiya.

"It didn't do anything," replied Regina.

"But it did," said Aiya. "It left an invisible web that is trapping your bey."

"What!" cried Regina.

"And now I think I'm going to end this now that your paralyzed," stated Aiya. "Special move! Fang Slash!"

Sonic vibrations began to build up around Arachne before the bey began to spin around the arena and build up power.

"No you don't!" cried Regina.

Atlanta managed to get out of the webs before attacking Arachne. However, the Atlanta then began to wobble.

"Why is Atlanta wobbling?" questioned Regina.

"Poison of course," replied Aiya. "When you hit Arachne, your bey was hit with a sonic wave that disrupted your beys spin. And the bey is also caught in the web again."

Regina gritted her teeth as she saw that Aiya was right.

"I'm getting bored," commented Aiya. "So I'm going to end this. Special move! Venom Slash!"

The bey covered itself in sonic vibrations again and charged forward. Regina could only watch as a black spider rammed into a woman with a bow and arrow. At the same time, Arachne sent a mirage of attacks at Atlanta.

Everyone in the stadium could see that Regina was about to lose.

'No,' thought Regina. 'I can't lose to this little twerp.'

**_"So you don't want to lose?"_**

'Who said that?' thought Regina.

**_"That doesn't matter. But if you let me in, I can give you the power to win this. What do you say?"_**

Regina watched as Aiya and her bey easily knocked around Atlanta.

'Deal,' thought Regina.

**_"Excellent. This might sting a little. So, try to think happy thoughts. Hahahahahaha."_**

Everyone in the stadium suddenly looked at Regina as she began to scream.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" screamed Regina.

Regina began to twitch and then she suddenly stopped.

'Oh my gosh,' thought Max. 'I can feel some kind of dark power coming from her.'

Regina gave a twisted smile before roaring, "Dark move!"

Regina gathered a ball of dark energy in her hands and her eyes went pitch black. She then threw the ball of energy at her bey and it radiated with dark lightning.

Max watched as the Woman with a bow and arrow appeared and turned black, at the same time he could hear a strange noise.

'Is Atlanta crying,' thought Max.

"Pitch Black Chaotic Attack!" spat Regina.

The Woman sprouted wings of dark energy before covering the arena in darkness.

Aiya watched as her worst fears came to life in front of her. This time, she really did cry.

The lights in the stadium dimmed and it went cold. Everyone was silent.

'Dark move,' thought Max. 'She's just like Artemis.'

"Hahahahahahahahhahahaha!" laughed Regina. "End this Atlanta!"

A dark bolt of lightning appeared and struck Arachne with a crash.

Aiya cried out as she was flung back from the impact and her bey was smashed into the ground.

The crowd remained silent and Max had sweat was running down his face as he thought back to when he saw Artemis battle.

_"End this Huntress!" roared Artemis as the purple and black Huntress appeared and smashed the bottom of the stadium and created an explosion of dark energy. _

_Frieda cried out as the explosion sent her flying into the back wall and the same went for her bey._

Some nurses with a stretcher came and took Aiya and her bey away.

Regina recalled her bey and walked off, smirking devilishly.

'What in the world is going on?' thought Max.

* * *

><p><strong>"Another blader who will help us with our cause has joined us," said the Dark Figure. "Excellent. Everything is moving smoothly."<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued: <strong>

**Now it is time for the super important note.**

**EXTREMELY SUPER IMPORTANT NOTE YOU ALL MUST READ: **Starting tomorrow I am back to school. Which means I will have less time to write chapters. So, the minimum is a chapter a week, but I'll try to update as much as possible. So until then, **PLEASE REVIEW!**


	19. Chapter 19: Growing Shadows

**It's been a week, but I managed to bust out the next chapter. Hope you all enjoy, also, I am making this chapter to be in memory of Grace of Flame. **

* * *

><p><strong><em>In loving memory of Grace of Flame, your stories will always be remembered as well you. Your spirit will live on forever. <em>**

**Chapter 19: Growing Shadows **

* * *

><p><strong>"I am getting restless."<strong>

"I know master," replied the Dark Figure. "But you must be patient. Soon everything will fall into place."

**"You want me to be patient! Do you know how long I have been trapped! Do you know what it feels like to be completely powerless! No! You don't do you! I'm so close to awakening that I can taste the sweet scent of victory already. Now, make sure nothing goes wrong. You know what will happen if you fail."**

The Dark Figure cowered and stepped back. "Yes Master."

**"Now leave!"**

The Dark Figure opened the door and left.

**"Now, I want these little brats to entertain me well. I want them to give me the ultimate entertainment before my resurrection party." **

* * *

><p>The next battles between Team Crimson and Team Power Burst had been put on hold due to the serious injuries to Aiya.<p>

Team Nova Flare made their way to the infirmary where they found Aiya in a bed next to Frieda's. Aiya was still out cold from her battle and Frieda was sleeping.

Kiara went over to Frieda, Blaze and Simon went over to Aiya while Max went to the x-rays of Frieda.

Max examined it and was shocked to see that the black dots had grown bigger and were rapidly spreading through her body.

'What is going on?' thought Max.

Max shifted his gaze to an x-ray of Aiya. It was nearly identical to Frieda's first x-ray.

'Is that dark power doing all of this?' thought Max as he remembered the strange battles.

* * *

><p><em>"End this Huntress!" roared Artemis as the purple and black Huntress appeared and smashed the bottom of the stadium and created an explosion of dark energy. <em>

_Frieda cried out as the explosion sent her flying into the back wall and the same went for her bey._

* * *

><p><em>Regina gave a twisted smile before roaring, "Dark move!"<em>

_Regina gathered a ball of dark energy in her hands and her eyes went pitch black. She then threw the ball of energy at her bey and it radiated with dark lightning._

_"Pitch Black Chaotic Attack!" spat Regina. _

_The Woman sprouted wings of dark energy before covering the arena in darkness. _

_Aiya watched as her worst fears came to life in front of her. This time, she really did cry._

_The lights in the stadium dimmed and it went cold. Everyone was silent. _

_"Hahahahahahahahhahahaha!" laughed Regina. "End this Atlanta!"_

_A dark bolt of lightning appeared and struck Arachne with a crash. _

_Aiya cried out as she was flung back from the impact and her bey was smashed into the ground._

* * *

><p>'I don't understand why Artemis and Regina are using dark moves,' thought Max. 'They didn't act all weird until the battle. Is someone responsible for this happening?'<p>

"She's awake," commented Simon as Aiya's eyes opened.

"What happened?" mumbled Aiya as she examined Simon and Blaze looking over here.

"You were in the middle of a battle with Regina and then she unleashed a dark move and it threw you into a wall," replied Blaze as if this happened all the time.

"That was so scary," stated Aiya as she buried her face in her hands. "I saw my worst fears come to life."

At that moment Frieda woke up and was startled to see Aiya in a bed next to hers.

"What's going on?" asked Frieda.

"Aiya was injured in a battle like you were," replied Kiara.

"Why is this happening?" questioned Frieda. "Since when did battles cause injuries like this?"

"I have the exact same question?" interrupted Max as the turned to face his friends. "Something isn't right here. First Artemis goes all crazy and then Regina part way through a battle. Something isn't right here. Something is pulling the strings behind these strange occurrences. Someone is making Regina and Artemis go all weird and use dark moves. I mean, what else could be happening?"

Team Nova Flare looked at each other.

"What are you trying to say?" asked Simon.

"Ever since I came here," replied Max. "Strange things have been happening. I can see bey spirits; I can hear them and communicate with them. I hear this strange voice and this voice seems to know what's going on and it's telling me to use this power that I have. I can even sense this dark energy, like I can feel the dark power radiating from Artemis and Regina."

"So what your saying is, this figure behind the scenes is turning students into their own personal puppets?" replied Kiara. "And you seem to be connected to all of this?"

Max nodded.

"Wait," interrupted Blaze. "Does this mean there's like some serious bad guy doing this? Think about it, how many whack jobs did the legendary Gingka Hagane face? The Dark Nebula and the possessed Ryuga. The Spiral Core and Faust. And of course Rago and Nemesis. Does this mean there's like some other dude like that here, and this guy is trying to do something evil as well."

"But what would they be doing by turning students into puppets," stated Frieda as she joined the conversation. "I mean, what's the point. There isn't enough students in the academy to make an army or something, so it sounds pointless."

"We don't have all the pieces yet," replied Simon. "But it is obvious that something strange is going on. I mean did you see how Regina twitched and screamed before she went all crazy and performed the dark move?"

"We don't know who's doing this," stated Max. "We don't why or what they plan to do. But we do know we can't let them get away with this. We'll save Artemis and Regina and stop whatever is going on."

Max stepped forward and Simon, Blaze and Kiara all placed their hands together. Max added his hand and looked at his teammates.

"Let's do this," declared Max and they threw their hands into the air.

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued: The next battle between Team Crimson and Team Power Burst begins! With Unmei still to make her appearance, it's a tag team match! Who will come out on top, Crimson or Power Burst? <strong>

**PLEASE REVIEW! **


	20. Chapter 20: Nearing shadows

**Hello everyone, here is chapter 20! And as you all have seen, I changed the title of the story to Beyblade Legends Academy: season 1: Darkness Transcends. That's because there will be another season after this! That's right season 2! Dark Prophecy! I'm not giving away any details for the next season. You're going to have to wait until the last chapter of season 1 to see. Also, remember Professor Drake from the chapter Darkness on the Move? Well, his name has been changed to Professor Viper. Enjoy this chapter! **

**Also, I was pretty busy today so I wasn't able to write what I was originally intending. But, ****please read and review!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 20: Nearing shadows <strong>

* * *

><p>Max thrashed around in his sleep. He was having a nightmare.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Max watched as kids screamed and fire continued to rise from buildings. There were explosions and Max was unable to move. He couldn't do anything. <em>

_'Why can't I move?' thought Max. _

_"Why!" cried Max. But no sound came from his mouth. _

_Suddenly, the kids dropped as orbs appeared from their chests and flew away. _

_'No!' thought Max. 'What's happening to them?' _

_Suddenly, a huge shadow like creature appeared and the orbs flew into it. The shadow laughed before throwing a punch towards Max. _

_Max closed his eyes, as the fist was about to make contact with him, when he awoke. _

* * *

><p>Max sat up with sweet running down his face. Max buried his face into his hands.<p>

"What's happening to me?" He asked himself.

* * *

><p><strong>"How is the process going?"<strong>

"Well master," replied the Dark Figure to the black computer screen. "Everything is going well. The girl Unmei is progressing well."

**"Good. Unmei will play a core piece in this game of chess. She will be my queen piece. The piece that wipes out all others until I, the King can end the game and call checkmate." **

"We will continue to make sure Unmei transforms properly," replied the Dark Figure.

**"You better. Unmei is far too important to my plan. She must become our pawn. She will help me to gain the energy I need to properly awaken and continue what Nemesis started. Do not fail me." **

"Yes master," replied the Dark Figure as he turned the computer off.

The Dark Figure stood up and walked over to the wall. He taped it three times in different places and the wall slid back to reveal a secret room.

The Dark Figure stepped into the dark cold room. On the far wall was Unmei. Her clothes were ripped, and her skin bruised and battered. Her lip was cut and she had a black eye.

Unmei looked up as the Dark Figure approached her.

"It's time for some more," snickered the Dark Figure.

"No," mumbled Unmei. "Please. I've been told what will happen if you release that power. You must not let it take me over."

"Oh sorry," replied the Dark Figure. "But we need that power to come out. You see, we need your dark side to come out so you will become the ultimate pawn."

The Dark Figure raised his arm and dark energy poured out his hand and entered an orb in the center of the room.

The white orb turned dark and sent purple electricity at Unmei.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Unmei as the electricity shocked her and forced its way into her body.

"Excellent," spat the Dark Figure. "Soon. Very soon. Everything will come together and the master will rise."

* * *

><p>Max walked to one side of his room before turning around and walking to the other. He continued this process while his hands were behind his back.<p>

'I don't understand why this is happening?' thought Max. 'This evil, whatever it is. Why is it doing this? What does it have to gain? Why is it here? What is it doing?'

Max sighed as he sat down on his bed. He looked over to the bedside table and watched as his bey gleamed in the light.

He walked over to his bey and picked it up.

Max suddenly felt dizzy and he stumbled onto the bed. He dropped Flame Swordsman onto the floor before falling unconscious.

* * *

><p><em>Max opened his eyes and stood up. He looked around and saw that he was in a village of some sort. He could see huts and people wearing sashes. <em>

_That's when he noticed a red knight standing in the distance. Everyone's attention was focused on the knight. _

_The Knight held his sword in the air and red light shot up into the air. _

_'What in the world?' questioned Max. _

* * *

><p>Aiya opened her eyes when she heard a yelp. She turned to the bed next to her and saw Frieda having what appeared to be a fit.<p>

"Nurse!" cried Aiya and the nurse rushed into the room. She took one glance at Frieda before trying her best to hold her down.

Aiya watched in horror as Frieda twitched and her eyes went blank.

Finally, Frieda stopped and she calmed down. Frieda was awake, but had her eyes closed and was resting.

"What happened?" asked Aiya to the Nurse.

The Nurse looked at Aiya before taking out a big poster, which was a new x-ray of Frieda.

Aiya had to stop herself from crying out in horror as she surveyed the x-ray.

The black dots had completely surrounded Frieda's bones on the outside and were now spreading to the inside.

'Frieda,' thought Aiya as she looked over to Frieda. 'What's happening to you?'

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued:<strong>

**I will try to do the next battle for the tournament next week, but only if my schedule allows me to do so. Any way's I hope you all enjoyed and please review! **


	21. Chapter 21: Training Days

**Please, please, please, please, please, please forgive me for taking so long to update! It's been like forever since I've done so! My homework just grew by a whole heap, and when I wasn't doing work I was either eating, sleeping or taking a break. Which meant I wasn't able to update till now! So, once again. I'm sorry. Hope you all enjoy this chapter, and please review!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 21: Training Days<strong>

* * *

><p>Max entered the pool area where everyone was hanging out on the hot day. He didn't feel like having fun though. For once, his smile was not on his face at all. It had been replaced with a frown.<p>

He was confused. He felt uneasy. He knew there was something going on at the academy; he knew someone was pulling the strings. He knew someone was turning kids into his pawns and using them as puppets to do his bidding.

'Why?' thought Max.

The question was buzzing around in his mind like a bee that wouldn't go away. The question was eating away at him. And he couldn't come up with a logical explanation. He and his team had talked about it earlier, and they deduced that there wasn't enough students at the academy to build an army, or a small army at that. Yet kids were being taken by the mysterious foe. But for what? Besides injuring kids, these pawns couldn't do much else. Max sat down on a chair away from everyone else and sighed. He knew at this point in time there was nothing he could do. This whole thing was like a puzzle. And he knew he was trying to solve a puzzle without all the pieces. And he was also trying to do it without the box that told him what the puzzle was supposed to look like. He needed to be patient; he needed to wait for the right time. But patients weren't really his strong point. He was more of action first, questions later kind of guy. If he got into trouble along the way, that's when he would think about it.

Max gripped his bey and examined it. It was super shiny after he gave it a clean this morning. For some reason, he felt like his bey had some part in this too. But like the plan this evil foe was conducting, he wasn't sure what it was. Max slipped the bey into his bag and took of his shirt so that he was now only in his red and black swim shorts. He sighed before closing his eyes and leaning back on his chair.

* * *

><p>"More!" demanded Jaden as Luke and Artemis were thrown back from Jaden's horrifying new powers. Dark energy radiated through her veins. She had a wicked smile plastered across her face and her eyes were glowing dangerously red and green. Her eyes were like that of a snake, waiting to sink its fangs into its prey.<p>

"Jaden," gasped Luke. "Were tired and hurt. We've been practicing all day. Besides, the Boss told us not to over use the dark power too much. He said there would be consequences."

"So what," scoffed Jaden. "I don't care what that moron thinks. This power is beyond anything I've ever felt. The dark power is increasing my strength every minute. Soon I will be invincible. Soon I will be strong enough to beat Kiara and get my revenge from when she beat me."

"But," objected Luke.

"No buts," spat Jaden. "Besides, shouldn't you be doing the same? Don't you want the power to get revenge on Max? That little twerp got you good, and as much as I would like to stomp him flat, I think it would be better if you did it."

Luke paused for a moment before agreeing. "Okay."

"Good," snorted Jaden. "Artemis." Jaden turned to face Artemis. Even she looked like she should lie down. Jaden had been going full on at them. She also had use steady doses of the dark power, even more careful then her teammates. If she over did it, she would lose control of her powers. And this could end bad for everyone around, including herself. But she didn't like her master as it is, and Jaden had easily convinced her to over do it.

"I'm in," replied Artemis with a wicked smile. "Let's do this. I can't wait to wipe the floor with those losers."

"Team King Destructors are going all the way to the top!" declared Jaden while her teammates laughed maliciously.

* * *

><p>Max was awoken by the scream of a boy. He eyes burst open and he watched as a boy watched sadly as his bey was knocked out of an arena near the pool. His opponent laughed and recalled his own. He had curly brown hair and was wearing blue swim shorts.<p>

"That's what you get!" snapped the Opponent.

The Boy looked sadly at his defeated bey. It had scratches and a few small cracks in it from the battle.

"Now say you're sorry!" demanded the Opponent.

"I'm sorry," mumbled the Boy as tears formed in his eyes.

"Say it louder!" snapped the Opponent.

At this point in time, Max had seen enough. He stepped in front of the Boy and faced the Opponent.

"Back off!" warned Max. His words caught the attention of everyone in the pool area.

"Out of the way chump!" demanded the Opponent.

"Never!" replied Max firmly. "No way am I going to let you bully this kid!"

"He was saying how he thought it was funny that I didn't get into the Battle of the Dorms Tournament! He thought it was funny that I was sick and couldn't even try to get in! And I taught him a lesson!" explained the Opponent.

"You totally over reacted!" replied Max. "He probably didn't even mean it that way! You need to learn to calm down!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" snapped the Opponent.

"Then how about I teach you some manners!" suggested Max. "Alright," replied the Opponent. "You've got a deal."

Max and the Bully moved to the special arena in the pool area. The kids had agreed to watch and moved out of the pool. A special arena moved from the bottom of the pool to the surface. Max stood at one end while the Bully stood at the other.

"The names Jones," said the Bully. "Prepare to lose."

"Not in a million years," replied Max.

Max pulled his red and black launcher out and inserted his bey. Jones pulled out a blue and black launcher and prepared his bey also.

Simon was in the middle of a conversation with his bey spirits when he entered the pool area and saw Max about to battle.

'Max,' thought Simon. 'You can never stay out of trouble can you?'

"3!" cried Max.

"2!" added Jones.

"1!' finished the crowd.

"Let it rip!"

Flame Swordsman and Jones' Grand Aquarios spun into battle. Jones smirked at Max's bey as if he knew something Max didn't know.

'I'm going to do this in one move,' thought Max.

"Attack Swordsman!" commanded Max and his bey sprung forward. Like a bullet, his bey shot towards Aquarios and knocked it back. Swordsman then attacked again, steadily pushing Aquarios back near the edge.

Max was focusing so much on attacking, he didn't notice Jones smirking at him sinisterly.

'Look out Max,' thought Simon.

"Pathetic," spat Jones. "Aquarios! Aqua Wave Assault!"

The water from the pool shot out around Aquarios and Swordsman was pushed back.

"Darn it," cursed Max. "Attack again!"

Swordsman shot forward and this time managed to make contact with Aquarios, but hit the Eternal Defense Spin Track. The track spun around, taking Swordsman with it, and leaving it on the edge of the arena.

Max was about to say a series of words he knew would be inappropriate to say at school, and he managed to hold it in.

"Go get him Aquarios!" commanded Jones and his bey smashed into Swordsman, sending it flying into the air. Everyone watching gasped, Max was about to have a heart attack and Jones merely smirked at the sight.

'I can't lose like this,' thought Max. 'I won't.'

"Special move!" roared Max. "Flame Sword Slash!"

The Red Knight appeared and charged down at Aquarios with his flaming sword.

"What a half-baked move," commented Jones.

"Say what?" replied Max.

"Special move!" exclaimed Jones. "Aqua Spiral!"

More water splashed up from the pool and shot up towards Swordsman. The water put out the flames on the Knight's Sword and knocked it off course, making it crash into the arena with a sickening crunch.

Max was speechless, he could see his bey wobbling out of the smoke, but he wasn't happy. He wasn't being his normal self. He wasn't battling the same as he usually did. He was fighting without heart. And that was why he was losing and panicking so much.

'I need to calm down,' thought Max. 'I need to battle with my heart.'

Max closed his eyes and Jones started laughing.

"Looks like you've given up!" declared Jones. "Don't worry, I'll put you out of your misery."

Aquarios leapt forward, and Max's eyes burst open and his bey dodged the attack.

"Go!" cried Max. "Flame Sword Slash!"

The Red Knight appeared once again and swung its flaming sword at Aquarios before Jones had time to react. Aquarios went flying to the other side of the arena, and Max wasn't done there.

"Hit him again!" cheered Max.

Flame Swordsman charged and slashed at Aquarios, sending the water bey flying into the air.

"Now use Flame Spiral!" continued Max.

A spiraling stream of fire shot into the air and knocked Aquarios further into the air.

"Time to end this!" added Max as his bey shot up into the air, overtaking Aquarios in the process.

"Now take him down with Phoenix Fury!" commanded Max.

The Flaming Phoenix appeared and shot downwards, crashing into Aquarios and knocking it into the arena like a bullet. As Phoenix neared to deal the final blow, Jones intervened.

"Water Sphere!" interrupted Jones.

More water from the pool swirled around Aquarios, creating a thick dome of water. The Phoenix crashed into the dome, letting off an explosion of steam. The attacks had canceled each other out and bot beys were spinning at the same speed.

"I never thought you would come this far," commented Jones. "But it ends here."

All the water from the pool drained away and began to swirl around Aquarios.

"This is the final stage of our game," stated Jones. "Special move! Tsunami Explosion!"

The water turned into a miniature tsunami that crashed into Flame Swordsman. The bey was surviving by using the flames to cast away near water into steam, but neither the bey nor the Red Knight could take much more.

"It's over!" laughed Jones.

"Not yet!" cried Max. "I'll never give in! Because a true blader doesn't give up! Blading isn't about attack strength or power! It's about heart, and the power of my heart is shining bright!"

_"Good. Now use that power to win this." _

Max was surrounded by red aura, and he knew what he had to do.

"Special move!" exclaimed Max. "Salamander Fury!"

The Red Knight's sword erupted with flames and a salamander composed of fire burst from the fiery blade and evaporated all the water in its past.

"Impossible!" cried Jones.

"Not for me!" shot back Max as his bey smashed into Aquarios and knocked it out of the arena with an explosion of fire.

Aquarios fell to the ground at Jones' feet, and he feel to his knees.

Swordsman returned to Max, and he smiled at his bey.

"Blading isn't about revenge," said Max to Jones. "It's about forging bonds with those who you battle with."

Jones smiled, before walking away with nothing but a salute. Max saluted back and looked up at the shining sun. He knew soon he would have to face this mysterious threat, but even then, he would fight for his friends, and with his heart.

* * *

><p><strong>I decided to turn down the dark tone of the story a bit with this chapter. Hope you don't mind. Please review! And I'll try and update soon!<strong>


	22. Chapter 22: Seeds of Destruction

**I know, this update took really long to happen, and I'm really sorry! I've been slacking off a bit with my writing lately, mainly because I feel like I needed a break. And for that, I'm sorry. But anyway, here is the next chapter. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 22: Seeds of Destruction <strong>

"Master," said the Male Hooded Figure as he entered the room. He bowed before his companion entered also.

"Master," said the Female Hooded Figure with a bow. The two hooded figures stood right beside each other, they didn't move an inch.

"How is everything proceeding?" asked the Dark Figure. "Smoothly I hope. This plan cannot face a delay. And the fact that the tournament has been put on hold is not very pleasing."

"Sorry," apologized the Female. "But you know how necessary it was to turn Artemis and Regina into our personal puppets."

"You know Athena is right," interrupted the Male.

"Don't push him Hermes," warned Athena. "You know how he gets."

"That's right," added the Dark Figure as he turned towards his disciples and shot dark energy at them via his hands. They were thrown back against the wall with a crash and stayed there.

"Forgive us Master," apologized Athena.

The Dark Figure growled before lowering his hand. The dark energy around Athena and Hermes faded and they fell to their knees.

"You all know the pain and suffering I have gone through," spat the Dark Figure. "And you know I have enough power to rip you both apart but just thinking it."

Athena and Hermes stood up but didn't reply.

"I have ill news," continued the Dark Figure as he walked to his desk and sat down. "_He _is here. _He _has returned."

Athena and Hermes gasped.

"Does _He _have his full power?" asked Hermes.

"No," replied the Dark Figure. "But he is using that boy as a proxy. A way to stop us from the past. He is training the boy to be his successor. Max Smith is the reincarnation of the Crimson Hero. And if he is not dealt with soon then he will become a great threat to our plan."

"But," interrupted Hermes. "Surely this could also work to our favour. The Dark Lord would certainly see the benefit from this. He could easily talk the child and absorb his hidden power before he fully masters it. This could be the thing that…"

"No!" roared the Dark Figure as he stood up. "Do you not see? The Dark Lord is too weak to take the Boy's power! His bey is the beacon to his power! We cannot simply take him and let the Lord absorb his energy! The Crimson Hero will protect him! The Dark Lord is enraged that the Crimson Hero has returned! He is afraid that he will do what he did in the past! He is afraid that history will repeat itself! At first I thought his power would take to long to become as strong as we feared, but after consulting with the Dark Lord I now know that he is easily a threat! His power will fuel the ritual, but he is a threat to it!"

The Dark Figure calmed himself down before thrusting open a draw and pulling out a bottle of wine. With one swift movement, he pulled the top off and began to glug it down. After drinking half the bottle, he slammed it down onto the table before sitting back down.

"What is your command Master?" asked Athena.

"We cannot simply take the Boy," explained the Dark Figure with a twisted smirk on his face. "But I have a way where the Boy will be most useful to us."

"Shall we send for the puppets?" asked Athena.

"No," replied the Dark Figure. "This is a job specifically for you. The puppets don't have the power to do what I want you to do. The puppets will have their moment, but not now."

"What is the plan?" asked Hermes.

"Oh," snickered the Dark Figure. "This plan is a splendid one indeed. Now listen carefully."

* * *

><p>Team Nova Flare had gathered in the medical wing room of Frieda and Aiya. Frieda had been frequently sleeping ever since her fit.<p>

"I don't like the sound of this," said Simon. "You having strange visions and dreams is not really giving us any reasons to not panic. Is it possible you yourself are connected to what's happening?" Simon looked over to Max.

"I don't know," replied Max. "But they are starting to freak me out. And I'm constantly hearing this strange voice."

"So if Max is somehow connected to what's happening," explained Kiara. "Then, is it possible that he may be the only one who can actually stop this from happening?"

"Maybe we should focus on what is actually happening first," interrupted Blaze.

"She's right," added Aiya from her bed. "We have to find out what's happening to Frieda. She's getting worse by the minute. The nurse isn't sure what's happening to her, and those black dots are slowly spreading faster."

"We know Regina and Artemis have something to do with this," said Simon. "And we know that it involves the dark power. We also know that someone is pulling the strings behind all of this."

"It's a start," added Blaze.

"But we won't know anymore until the tournament starts back up again," added Kiara.

* * *

><p>"Time for bed," said Max to himself as he placed Flame Swordsman on his bedside table. He turned the light off and pulled the covers over himself. "Good night Swordsman."<p>

* * *

><p>"It's time," said Hermes from a black room with many strange symbols. He stood next to Athena, her lips in a twisted smile.<p>

"Let's go," snickered Athena as she and Hermes held up their right hands to the wall. They each had a C scar on them surrounded by other strange symbols on their hands. Suddenly, Athena's burned and grew a bright pink while Hermes did the same but glowed a bright blue.

The two disciples chuckled as the room was filled with pink and blue.

* * *

><p><em>"You are our last hope."<em>

Max tossed and turned in his sleep.

_"You must save us."_

Max turned over and waved his hands around.

_"Please save us! Be our hero!"_

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" cried Max as he woke up, his eyes with flames in them. He huffed and puffed and calmed down. The flames in his eyes vanished.

Max buried his face in his hands and asked, "What's happening to me?"

"Hahahahahahaha."

"Who said that?" asked Max as he looked up. He could see no one.

"Hahahahahahaha."

"Who are you? Show yourself!" demanded Max as he got out of bed and picked up Swordsman. He took out his launcher and readied his bey.

"Hahahahahahaha."

Suddenly, two C symbols appeared on the wall, one pink, and one blue. Max watched as the symbols got brighter, and brighter, until he they swallowed him up.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

* * *

><p>"What the heck?" cursed Max as he stood up. He was standing inside a black room with strange symbols all over the walls and in the center of the room was a bey stadium.<p>

"What in the world?" asked Max.

"Welcome Max Smith," said a female voice. Max turned to see a woman walking towards him. She was wearing a grey cloak with a hood. She wore a red sleeveless shirt with a golden collar and also wore a grey skirt. She had black high heels and black stockings. She pulled her hood down to reveal a smooth face with red lips and pink eyes. She had long red hair tied back in a ponytail and had big golden hoop earrings.

"Yes," added a male voice. "Welcome." From the shadows appeared a man also wearing a grey cloak with a hood. He wore a blue t-shirt with a golden collar and grey pants. He wore black shoes and a golden belt. He pulled back his hood to reveal a face with blue eyes. He had short black hair that was spiky at the front.

"Who are you people?" asked Max. "Where am I? How did I get here?"

"Don't be rude Max," replied the Female. "After all, we have invited you here."

"I don't remember getting an invitation," spat Max coldly.

"It was compulsory," snickered the Male. "So you didn't get a choice in the matter."

"Well I'm here," said Max. "And I want to leave now. So, how do I get out of here?"

"You can't just leave," replied the Female. "It doesn't work that way."

"You have to defeat us," finished the Male.

"Oh terrific," cursed Max.

"Now," said the Two Figures together. "Let's begin." The two held up their hands, and their C scars lit up with blue and pink energy.

"I am Athena," introduced the Female. "And this is Hermes."

"Bring it!" declared Max. "Because I don't lose to weirdoes!" Max took out his launcher and attached Swordsman.

"Prepare to lose to our beys," scoffed Hermes. "My Chaos Hermes, and Athena's Chaos Athena."

'Their beys have the same names as them?' thought Max.

"And we are going to crush you!" declared Athena as she attached a pink bey to her launcher.

"If you lose this match!" added Hermes as he attached a blue bey to his launcher. "We get your soul! Along with all your beys power and your own!"

"This sounds an awful lot like Yu-Gi-Oh," joked Max. "So, if I lose you take my soul. And then do you banish my mind to the shadow realm or to the netherworld?"

**(A/N: I am not bagging out Yu-Gi-Oh! I am a fan of the series and I just though it would work here). **

"Oh this is no joke," spat Athena. "You will lose your soul. And unlike how they do it in the cartoons, it is a very slow and extremely painful process."

"Then I won't lose!" replied Max. "Let's do this!"

"3!" cried Hermes.

"2!" added Athena.

"1!" finished Max.

"Let it rip!"

Flame Swordsman, Chaos Athena and Chaos Hermes spun into the stadium and began the battle.

"I really don't like this place!" commented Max. "So I'm going to end this quickly! Attack Swordsman!"

Flame Swordsman charged forward and clashed with Hermes. Hermes smirked as Athena silently sent her bey to smash into Swordsman.

"Attack Athena now!" commanded Max.

Swordsman charged at Athena this time, but the pink bey easily dodged the attack and Hermes came in and knocked Swordsman away.

Max growled in frustration as Hermes and Athena circled Swordsman.

"Strike now Hermes!" commanded Hermes as his bey sprung forward and hit Swordsman.

"You too Athena!" ordered Athena as her bey came forward and hit Swordsman sending it back towards Hermes who hit Swordsman again.

'Crud,' thought Max. 'They're using a combo strategy to beat me. I'm going to have to try and separate them.'

"Swordsman!" roared Max. "Move!"

Swordsman managed to dodge an attack from Athena and charged around the edge of the arena. Soon, Swordsman grew red hot and flames surrounded the bey while also leaving a trail of fire.

"Let's see you trump this!" declared Max with a big smirk. "Special move! Flame Sword Slash!"

The red Knight appeared with his flaming sword and charged at Hermes.

"Pathetic!" scoffed Hermes. "Special move! Chaotic Staff of Ruin!"

A blue man with wings and blue armour appeared. He wielded a staff with a point on the end and two snakes snaked around it.

"Counterattack!" spat Hermes. "Destroy him Messenger of Chaos!"

As the Red Knight raised his word to attack, the Messenger raised his staff and blocked the flaming blade. The Knight raised his blade to attack again, but the Messenger was faster, and stabbed him with his staff.

Max cried out as he felt as if someone had stabbed him, and his bey was flung back from Hermes' attack.

"What the heck," cursed Max who gripped his chest. "I felt that."

"In this battle," explained Athena. "You feel the pain your bey feels."

'Oh come on,' thought Max.

"I believe it's your turn Athena," said Hermes.

"Why thank you," replied Athena. "Attack Spinstress! Web of Deceit!"

Max watched as a red web shot out of the pink bey and took hold of Swordsman.

"This isn't good," commented Max.

"Crush him!" ordered Athena and her bey did just that as the pink bey began to swing Swordsman around, knocking it against the walls of the stadium.

As this happened, Max gasped and cried out as he felt as if some one was hitting him with a brick wall.

"Now to get serious!" hissed Athena. "Special move! Chaos Scepter Blast!"

A pink mistress wearing a dress with a tall crown and holding a scepter appeared. She pointed it at the Red Knight and a stream of energy shot out of it and smashed into the Red Knight.

Max cried out as he was flung back from the attack as well as his bey. He crumbled to the floor while his bey wobbled. Hermes and Athena laughed wickedly.

"This boy is no threat to the Dark Lord," scoffed Hermes. "We are not even using the power the Master gave us."

"This little pipsqueak is definitely no challenge," added Athena. "What say we end this?"

"Allow me!" declared Hermes. "Special move! Chaos Arrow Shot!"

The Messenger appeared with a bow and arrow. He took aim at the Red Knight and shot it at him, exploding on impact and throwing the bey back.

Max screamed as he was suddenly thrust back into the wall. He clutched his chest as if an arrow had gone through it and he felt like someone had thrown him into a volcano.

'Oh man,' thought Max. 'They're killing me. And they're definitely going to take my soul if I lose. But what were they saying. Dark Lord? Master? Does that mean there is more then one guy pulling the strings. Well, I can't stand around here to find out. And my soul is on the line. There is not way I'm losing!'

With all of his strength, Max stood up and walked back over to the arena.

"Back for some more?" spat Hermes.

"I'm back to win!" declared Max. "Swordsman! Special move! Flame Sword Slash!"

'Help me out here,' thought Max.

_"Let's do this," said the Voice. _

"Goooooooooooooooooooooooo!" roared Max as power flowed through his veins and he was surrounded by orange aura.

The Red Knight appeared with its sword held high and charged at Hermes.

"Fool!" scoffed Hermes. "I will block again! Go! Chaos Staff of Ruin!"

The blue Messenger appeared with its staff and blocked the attack, but Knight's sword broke through and slashed the Messenger.

"What?" cried Hermes as he felt a slash go across his chest.

"It's called turning the tables!" replied Max as the Knight slashed at the Messenger again and again and again.

Hermes screamed in pain as he stumbled back with each attack that hit his bey.

"Hermes!" called out Athena. "You'll pay for that squirt! Athena! Web of Deceit!"

The Spinstress appeared and shot a web at the Knight, but Max was ready.

"Flame Spiral!" interrupted Max and the Knight pointed his sword towards the Spinstress. A stream of fire shot out of the blade and smashed into the pink mistress.

Athena stumbled back from the attack and watched in horror as the Knight charged forward and slashed at the Spinstress with his flaming blade.

"Now for the main event!" added Max. "Special move! Salamander Fury!"

A salamander composed of fire burst from the Knight's blade and shot towards the blue and pink beys. Throwing itself sideways, the salamander used its body to engulf the opposing beys in fire and knock them to the other side of the arena. At the same time, they Athena and Hermes were thrown back into the wall and their clothes were suddenly singed.

_"Good. Now don't stop. Keep going. We can't afford to let them get back their balance."_

'Right,' thought Max.

"No!" exclaimed Hermes. "I won't lose!"

Hermes held up his right hand and his crest glowed blue.

"Stop Hermes!" warned Athena.

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><p><em>"Now," said the Dark Figure. "This will hurt a lot. But once the ritual is complete, you will have the power of chaos." <em>

_The Dark Figure held out his hand and dark energy began to flow into his disciples. They screamed as their hands were scarred with a C and other strange symbols. _

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><p><em>"It is done," said the Dark Figure as Athena and Hermes held up their hands. They flashed their respective colours and power flowed through them. <em>

_"Be warned," added the Dark Figure. "Over using this power after only just getting it will cause you to fall under its control. The power of chaos is strong. So only use the power that is needed."_

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><p>"Stop!" called out Athena again as blue markings appeared all over Hermes body.<p>

"It's too late," replied Hermes as the markings glowed. "I'm losing control!"

"Attack Flame Swordsman!" interrupted Max. "Flame Sword Slash!"

The Red Knight appeared and charged with his flaming sword.

"Back off!" roared Hermes as his eyes glowed blue. "Chaos Arrow Shot!"

The Messenger appeared and shot its arrow at the Red Knight.

"Dodge!" commanded Max and his bey did just that.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" screamed Hermes as he fell to his knees.

'No,' thought Athena. 'His power is killing him. I'll have to use my own power to balance his out.'

Athena held up her right hand and her crest glowed. Pink markings appeared all over her body and she cried out in pain.

"Hermes!" called out Athena.

"Athena!" called out Hermes.

The two held up their crests to each other and there was an explosion of light that blinded Max. When it cleared, Hermes and Athena were surrounded by blue and pink aura respectively.

"Combo attack!" they cried.

"Web of Chaos!" exclaimed Athena as the Spinstress appeared and tied up the Red Knight with a web.

"Tornado of Chaos!" exclaimed Hermes as the Messenger appeared and spun his staff, creating a blue tornado that smashed into the trapped Red Knight.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" screamed Max.

"This is the end!" spat Athena.

"I don't think so!" roared Max as his eyes burned and he held his right hand up. "I never give up!"

There was suddenly burst of energy all around the room, and that came to Max's hand and created an O crest.

"The crest of Order," gasped Hermes.

"Phoenix Fury!" exclaimed Max as the flaming phoenix appeared and crashed into the Spinstress and Messenger.

_"Now finish them!"_

Max held up his right hand and his crest glowed and orange red colour. "Fusion move!"

"Say what!" cried Athena.

"Chimera Fury!" finished Max.

The Phoenix and Salamander reappeared before combining to create a chimera composed of fire.

"End this!" ordered Max and the chimera shot forward and incinerated Chaos Hermes and Chaos Athena before the Red Knight reappeared and landed the final blow.

Hermes and Athena both screamed as they were thrown back from the attack and the room was set ablaze.

"I win!" roared Max as his bey returned to him.

Max began to vanish in the flames, but just as this happened, Athena threw a black seed at Max that evaporated before he vanished.

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><p>Max awoke with sweat pouring down his face, Swordsman in his hand and scars all over his body.<p>

"It was real," said Max. Then he gasped when he saw the crest on his right hand burning brightly.

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><p>"So you did it," chuckled the Dark Figure.<p>

"Yes Master," replied Athena. "Just as you had hoped, he gained the crest of Order."

"And we planted the seed," added Hermes.

"Perfect," spat the Dark Figure. "Now no one will stand in our way. His power will be his downfall. Mwhahahahahahahaha!"

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><p><strong>To be continued: Hope you all enjoyed this chapter and liked the added mystery. Max now has the "crest of order." While we learnt who the hooded figures were and their power. <span>PLEASE REVIEW!<span>**

**Oh, and if you're wondering why Hermes is called the "Messenger" and Athena "Spinstress," it's because in Greek mythology Hermes is the messenger of the Gods and Athena was a Spinstress, the greatest until she was beaten by Arachne. **


	23. Chapter 23: Dark Order

**Hey there people, here is the next chapter! And we finally continue the battle of the dorms tournament! However, I have to ask. Why is there barely anyone reviewing. I have an OC from about 7 to 9 people and I only got 2 reviews? MarsTwilight and CheckMyProfileYouMightKnowMe are off the hook because they did review, but it hurts my feelings that only 2 people bothered to review. So pretty please ****REVIEW!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 23: Dark Order<strong>

Everyone in the room gasped as they examined the _O_ scar on Max's right hand. It was no longer glowing and radiating energy, but it still looked impressive without it.

"What is it?" asked Blaze.

"They called it the crest of order," replied Max quietly as tried to comprehend what was happening to him.

"Crest of order?" Kiara had a puzzled look on her face.

"This is messed up," interrupted Aiya. "First people start using dark moves! And then Max is attacked by assassins with weird powers! It just doesn't make sense!"

"Calm," said Kiara as she went over to Aiya and comforted her. Tears sprung from Aiya's eyes.

"And look what happened to Frieda." She turned towards the sleeping Frieda, whose strange black dot disease had spread to her skin.

"You said they had they had their own crests," interrupted Simon as he caught Max's attention.

"Yeah," replied Max. "They had a C instead of an O. I think it stood for chaos because all of their moves had chaos in them."

"Chaos and order huh," commented Simon as tapped on his laptop. "Here it is. Order and Chaos are the basic components of light and darkness. Basically the modern day term for Yin and Yang. Order represents Yang, the light and good or justice of the world. And Chaos represents Yin, the darkness and evil or injustice of the world. It also says that Order and Chaos have battled for years on end. Most of the time, Chaos attempts to break the delicate balance by consuming the world in chaos, although Order has sometimes also attempted to break this balance."

Simon looked up to see everyone listening intently. "Some believe that the power of order and chaos still exist in the modern world, but in strange forms that we can't guess or comprehend."

Max examined his crest again before saying, "bingo."

"So are those assassins Hermes and Athena the people behind this?" asked Blaze.

"No," answered Max. "They said that their master, gave them their power and that their master is working for this Dark Lord."

Kiara sighed in annoyance. "Two steps forward. One step back."

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><p>The students entered the repaired arena. It had taken a beating after Frieda had faced Artemis and Aiya had been defeated by Regina.<p>

In fact, Regina had been avoiding people ever since. She had been absent from a lot of classes and was becoming very cold and mysterious. In fact, she was stealing the spotlight from Artemis who had been hanging with the rest of her team. Not that anyone thought that this made sense however. Everyone knew that Jaden and Luke were total bullies, and Artemis was originally nice. But after her first appearance in the tournament, she was now seen as a dangerous nut. That was how everyone was describing her. But more people were focused on the latest "incident," as Mr. Jones put it. The battle between Aiya and Regina was the latest gossip. Especially how Regina was creating blasts of dark energy and stuff. Some people had even caught it all on their phones and posted it on YouTube. It went viral pretty quickly. Some people are even comparing it to the footage of Gingka and Ryuga's epic battle during Battle Bladers.

"Alright kids," announced Jones from his stand. "After a delay, we are proud to restart the Battle of the Dorms Tournament! First off, let's introduce back the members of Team Power Burst! I give you Linh Tuan and Taylor Prince!"

The two bladers entered the arena and waved to the cheering crowd.

"And from Team Crimson!" continued Jones. "Give it up for Morgan Blue Robinson Abyss, Regina and Unmei!"

Morgan appeared first, shortly followed by Regina who had dark circles around her eyes and a twisted smirk across her face. Like last time, Unmei didn't appear.

In fact, Unmei hadn't been showing up for any of her classes. Supposedly for health reasons and she would only be seen entering and leaving her room.

"Because of the set back from the last battle," explained Jones. "We will be proceeding with an all out battle. The winner of this battle will move onto the next round! Because Aiya and Unmei are unable to attend, the match ups will be Morgan Abyss and Regina versus Linh Tuan and Taylor Prince."

The crowd cheered as the bladers stepped up to the bey arena. Taylor continued to wave to the crowd and noticed Linh looking uneasy.

"Something wrong?" asked Taylor.

"Crowds can put me off sometimes," replied Linh. "And I can't get that battle between Aiya and Regina out of my head."

Taylor had to admit, it wasn't the prettiest battle. Regina went crazy and hospitalized Aiya in a single move in a similar fashion to Artemis. A shiver went down Taylor's spine.

"I'm sure everything will be fine," assured Taylor and Linh smiled in response. But he wasn't so sure himself.

As Team Crimson approached the arena, Morgan was eyeing his teammate suspiciously.

"Is there something on my face?" asked Regina coldly.

"It's nothing," answered Morgan.

"Just stay out of my way in this battle," spat Regina as she turned her head away.

'What is her problem?' thought Morgan. 'She was nice the first time we meet, and now she's extremely stuck up. And what did she do to Aiya?'

The bladers came to the stadium and took out their beys.

"Now," announced Mr. Jones. "I want a nice clean battle. There will be no extremely rough battling that creates holes in the stadium. And I do not want to see dark energy. Is that clear?"

Regina looked up at Jones and smirked twistedly. "Of course Mr. Jones."

Jones stepped back with an uneasy look on his face.

"Let the match begin!" cried Jones.

"Prepare to lose to my Dark Flame Scorpio," declared Morgan as he held up his bey.

"That's nothing compared to mine," retorted Regina as she held out Amazonian Atlanta.

"Get ready to feel the power of my Armor Quetzalcoatl," added Taylor as he held out his bey for show.

"I'm going to give it my all with Tempest Archangel," finished Linh as she held out her bey. The fusion wheel was shaped so that it had seven hook-like edges that appeared similar to angel wings. It's yellow and white energy ring was round and shaped like a halo while it had a white version of the upper wing spin track. The performance tip was a gold eternal sharp.

"Ready your beys!" declared Jones.

The four bladers set their beys in their launchers. Taylor had a happy grin on his face; Morgan's was a bit more serious; Linh had a determined expression and Regina had her malicious smile on.

"Three!" cried Taylor and Linh.

"Two!" continued the crowd.

"One!" finished Regina and Morgan.

"Let it rip!"

The four beys spun into action, quickly landing and then racing around the arena.

"I'm going to get this party started!" cheered Taylor. "Attack Quetzalcoatl!"

Quetzalcoatl charged forward towards Atlanta and Scorpio, but was surprised when Regina simply commanded her bey to dodge the attack and allowed Morgan's Scorpio to be hit.

"Strike one!" cheered Taylor.

Morgan looked disturbed for once. He turned to Regina with a grumpy expression on his face. "Why would you let him hit me like that?"

"So I wouldn't get hit," spat Regina in reply. "Duh. Do you not understand the principals of this game?"

"This is a _tag-team _match," replied Morgan angrily. "Were supposed to work together. Not go solo!"

"I don't need your help to win this," scoffed Regina.

Morgan just growled in frustration.

"Special move!" interrupted Taylor. "Venom Fang Strike!"

Quetzalcoatl shot towards Scorpio and then began to circle it at high speeds. It slowly edged itself closer and began to slash at Scorpio.

"Oh no," panicked Morgan.

"I got you now!" cried Taylor in triumph as a two-winged golden serpent with sapphire eyes appeared and used its fangs to attack a scarlet scorpion.

Morgan watched as Taylor's bey wiped the floor with his own.

"That's it!" snapped Morgan, really losing his temper. "Special move! Flaring Claw!"

Scorpio managed to get away from Quetzalcoatl and spun near the edge of the stadium before vanishing.

"Hey," piped up Taylor. "Where did he go?"

"Right here!" replied Morgan with a fierce roar as Scorpio reappeared and smashed into Quetzalcoatl, sending it flying back.

"Hit him again!" ordered Morgan as his bey shot forward.

"Now Linh!" interrupted Taylor.

"Huh?" questioned Morgan.

"Special move Archangel!" cried Linh. "Crushing Light!"

Archangel shot forward and intercepted Scorpio's attack. It used the hooks on its fusion wheel to trap Scorpio before a tall, armoured archangel with flowing golden hair appeared and charged at the scarlet scorpion.

Morgan could only watch as Archangel sent blow after blow against his bey.

"A little help here would be nice." Morgan turned to face Regina who had her arms crossed and eyes closed.

"Bite me," Regina spat.

Morgan's eye twitched before he turned his attention back to the game.

"Scorpio!" exclaimed Morgan. "Super Stab Attack!"

Scorpio managed to evade Archangel and retreated away from the opposing beys. It fusion wheel glowed a scarlet red before it charged forward with maximum power.

"Full speed ahead!" roared Morgan.

"Not so fast!" interrupted Taylor. "You're not the only one with a fancy move! Quetzalcoatl! Hit him with Venom Fang Strike again!"

The serpent appeared and charged as the scarlet scorpion did also with its tail raised.

"Gooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" exclaimed Morgan and Taylor at the same time as their beys clashed.

Neither bey appeared ready to budge, but then Scorpio pulled back slightly and sent a bump at Quetzalcoatl, knocking it back.

"No!" panicked Taylor.

"I got you now!" cried Morgan in triumph as the scorpion came upon the serpent.

"Special move!" interrupted Linh. "Heaven's Protection!"

Archangel once again jumped in front of Quetzalcoatl, and a huge angelic shield appeared and deflected Scorpio's attack.

"Whew," sighed Taylor with relief. "Thanks for the save Linh."

"No problem," replied Linh.

'Darn it,' thought Morgan. 'Their teamwork is very good. And because I'm battling them by myself, I can't keep up. Regina is refusing to help me. But what can I do?'

"Time to attack," declared Linh. "Special move Archangel! Golden Light Shower!"

The Archangel with golden hair appeared and looked up at the ceiling. Suddenly, there was light raining from the sky, and it smashed right into Scorpio while Atlanta dodged the attack.

Morgan could only watch as his bey was trapped in the storm of light-like hail that sent his bey spiraling all over the arena.

"There's no way I'm going down like this," groaned Morgan. "I refuse to lose like this! Scorpio!"

Managing to recover from the attack, Scorpio made its way to the edge of the stadium, seeking cover from the opposing beys.

"Special move!" ordered Morgan. "Poison Fury!"

The scarlet scorpion appeared and charged at the opposing beys, using its claws to knock them aside into the stadium.

"It's now of never," commented Taylor. "Soar Quetzalcoatl!"

Quetzalcoatl using the momentum from Scorpio's attack rushed towards the edge of the arena and shot up into the air.

Everyone in the stadium gasped as Quetzalcoatl soared high into the air, preparing for its attack.

"Special move!" cheered Taylor. "Quetzalcoatl Wing Smash!"

Quetzalcoatl soared down towards the scarlet scorpion and the serpent appeared, readying its wings.

Morgan watched awestruck as the serpent rammed its wings into his bey beast, sending it crashing into the ground with a crash.

"Oh yeah," cheered Taylor. "Finish him off Linh."

"Right," answered Linh with a smile. "Ready Archangel?"

"Don't even think about it!" interrupted Morgan. "I got one more card to play! Flammable Flames!"

Scorpio was suddenly engulfed in flames and charged towards Archangel, preparing to have its revenge.

"Not if I can help it!" cried Linh. "Archangel! Heaven's Circle!"

The golden haired archangel appeared once again, and then there was a rumble, and 1000 blades o flight rained down upon Scorpio.

Morgan cried out as his bey was struck down by the blades, knocking it all over the arena.

"No!" cried Morgan before turning to face Regina, whose bey was dodging the attack. "This is all your fault!"

Scorpio did its best to dodge the blades and made its way over to Atlanta.

"Eat this!" roared Morgan in anger as Scorpio charged at Atlanta, completely confusing Taylor and Linh.

"You dare attack me!" snapped Regina and her eyes burst opened. They were pitch black.

Scorpio clashed with Atlanta, but the latter easily overpowered the other. Atlanta sent a crushing blow at Scorpio and knocked it back.

"You think you can actually deal me any damage?" snorted Regina. "What a wimp."

"I'm not a wimp!" exclaimed Morgan in fury. His eyes were full or rage. His shoulders were hunched and his veins were popping out.

**_"_****_Yes. I sense anger and fury. All the power I need in a good pawn. Morgan Blue Robinson Abyss, you will make a perfect new pawn in my game. Do it now Regina. Mwahahahahahaha!"_**

Regina turned to face Morgan, and held out her hand, in a single moment, dark energy shot out of her fingertips and hit Morgan.

In that moment, the lights in the stadium went out and it went extremely cold and silent as well.

Morgan's screams were the only thing that could be heard as the dark energy picked him up and forced its way inside him through his mouth, eyes and nose. It was a horrific sight as his veins went pitch black and he twitched and screamed non-stop.

Max watched horrorstruck as Regina began to laugh malevolently, when suddenly, his crest glowed a bright orange red colour.

'What in the world is happening?' thought Max.

Then all of a sudden, there was an ear piercing _SNAP_! And Morgan was lowered to the grand.

Taylor and Linh's eyes were wide open in horror, and neither dared move.

Morgan suddenly smiled, and opened his eyes to reveal nothing but the colour black.

"Dark move," chuckled Morgan maliciously. "Poison Sting Strike!"

The scarlet scorpion rose from the stadium and dark red energy poured from it and began to attack the beys. Next, it rammed its stinger into the center of the stadium, and that's when things got REALLY scary.

Dark energy shot from the hole the stinger had made like a bullet and began slashing as Quetzalcoatl, smashing off its parts and leaving the deepest scars.

"Stop!" begged Taylor. "Please stop!"

"Never!" barked Morgan gruesomely as the dark energy slashed Taylor across the chest and his legs before throwing him against the wall and then pounding his bey straight into the ground.

"Oh my gosh," commented Max in horror.

"My turn!" chuckled Regina as she set her sights on the petrified Linh. "Dark move! Pitch-Black Chaotic Attack!"

The black lady with the arrows and a bow appeared and sprouted wings of darkness. In a single moment, darkness spread across the arena and plunged Archangel into the ground. Then, the darkness formed a hand and picked up Linh, and plowed her into the ground with a sickening crunch.

Everyone just watched horror struck, unable to say anything. Morgan and Regina recalled their beys and walked off, laughing as they did it.

Max felt something inside of him. Anger, rage and a lust for revenge.

'Whoever you are,' thought Max as he clenched his fist. 'Whatever you are. I promise you, you'll pay for this.'

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><p><strong><em>"<em>****_Mwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!" _**

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><p><strong>That's chapter 23. And sorry if some people are unhappy that I'm hurting their OC's. But they will not die. They will be fine. Just thought I'd get that out of the way.<strong>

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and remember, ****PLEASE REVIEW!**


	24. Chapter 24: Fangs of Fury

**Hello everyone! I'm happy I got so many reviews for the last chapter! I am also glad that everyone hasn't lost interest in my story. Once again this is a late update, but I've been having trouble getting the right angle on this story. I think I have it about right, but I'm not too sure. Anyway, here is the next chapter and no delays on the tournament! **

**Now, I am going to reply to all your latest reviews.**

**SwiftTheWritingMagician: I really hope I'm not going overkill on the Dark Lord and all. But I'm trying to send the message that this guy is even more twisted then Nemesis and Rago. The whole, "people getting possessed" thing is part of the Nemesis' Heir concept. I'm trying to develop his character even thought we don't see him or rarely see him talking. Also, the dark tone in this story is just going to go up, so I've raised the rating of this story to T. **

**AKA99: Glad you liked the chapter. And Google IS that good. Although, the whole thing on order and chaos was based on my own knowledge and things I've heard in the past. When I tried to Google it, all I got were pages on the game Order and Chaos. **

**GoldenAngel999: Sorry for making Frieda the one who copped the dark move attack from Artemis. And sorry that I made Morgan get possessed. But it was all part of the story and was necessary. Carlos definitely won't be possessed like Morgan, but I can't guarantee that he won't be attacked like Frieda. Sorry. **

**Gingercookiessnaps: I understand that you have college. And it's fine that your busy. I'm glad you haven't lost interest in my story and also that you really like it. Also I don't really have a word for when someone "turns bad," so for now I'm just going to stick with being possessed because that's basically what's happening. **

**Alpha Dragonis: It's fine that you have been busy; I was just making sure no one had lost interest in my story. Thanks for the review, and I will definitely continue writing. **

**MarsTwilight: I'm glad you really like this story and I will do my best at writing it and updating. **

**Graceful Amaryllis: It's fine that you have college and you are busy and all. I understand with my own schoolwork. Like all my other replies, I am glad to know that you haven't lost interest in my story. I'm also happy that you didn't mind Linh being attacked. **

**Bristleclaw: Thanks for loving my story and I will continue writing this! **

**There are the replies, and now its time for the next exciting chapter. Remember, PLEASE REVIEW! **

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><p><strong>Chapter 24: Fangs of Fury <strong>

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><p><strong>Battle of the Dorms Tournament Stats: <strong>

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><p><strong>Qualifying Round:<strong>

**Battle #1: Team Nova Flare (Won) VS Team Frostbite.**

- **Round One Winner: Team Nova Flare-Max**

- **Round Two Winner: Team Frostbite-Winta **

- **Round Three Winner: Draw**

- **Tie-Breaker Round Winner: Team Nova Flare-Max & Kiara **

**Battle #2: Team King Destructors (Won) VS Team Fiore**

- **Round One Winner: Team King Destructors-Artemis **

- **Round Two Winner: Team King Destructors-Jaden & LUke **

**Battle #3: Team Crimson (Won) VS Team Power Burst**

- **Round One Winner: Team Crimson-Regina **

- **Round Two Winner: Team Crimson-Regina & Morgan **

**Battle #4: Team Atlas VS Team Raging Spirit (TBD)**

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><p>Max examined the screen closely, sweat rolling down his forehead as he di so.<p>

'Team Atlas VS Team Raging Spirit,' thought Max. 'Anyone of them could be possessed or attacked. This competition is getting riskier with each round. Who knows what disaster could strike next.'

"Worried about the next round huh?" asked Simon as he approached Max with Kiara and Blaze in tow.

"Were getting more worried about you with each day," added Kiara. "All this weird stuff that has been happening is having the greatest effect on you."

Max frowned in reply. "I know. But I just feel useless while all those people go into battle and get hurt."

Blaze nodded. "But it isn't your fault. We all feel useless when someone new gets attacked. But you have to accept there isn't much we _can_ do."

Max groaned and looked down at his Order Crest resting on his right hand.

"You don't think…" Simon stuttered.

"I do," finished Max. "I got this crest for a reason. What If I'm supposed to fight whatever is doing this? I can't be coincidence that I get this kind of power."

Kiara and Blaze looked at each other.

"Then we want to fight with you," Kiara answered.

"What?" gasped Max. "You can't. I won't let you! This is too dangerous! I couldn't forgive myself if anything happened to any of you!"

Simon held up his hand to stop Max. "We're all in this together Max. We already knew that you'd want to fight this threat, and we all agreed to fight it with you."

"We're a team Max," pointed out Blaze. "So we need to fight as one. Besides, you'll never be able to fight them all alone. You may have a fancy crest with ancient powers, but teamwork is supposed to be the greatest power."

Max bit his lip and thought for a moment before smiling. "You're right."

"So then," said Simon as he stepped forward. "Let's get to the bottom of this."

"Right," replied Blaze as she stepped forward also.

"Were going to save everyone was has been affected by this evil," continued Kiara.

"And kick their buts!" cheered max as he stepped forward as well.

Team Nova Flare all put their hands together before throwing them up.

"Let's do this team!" cried Max.

"What first?" asked Kiara.

"I think it would be good to keep an eye on the next two teams to battle?" suggested Simon.

Max smirked. "Let's do it."

* * *

><p>The Saturn Dorm's indoor bey arena had been booked out by the dorms very own Team Atlas.<p>

The walls were green and the roof white. The floor was a light blue and the building was quite large. It was similar to all the other dorms indoor training centers. The outer part of the room was surrounded by gym equipment such as weights, punching bags, bench presses and exercise bikes. There were also bey-training areas such as launch zones and small dish arenas.

The center was however the main stadium where bladers could practice full out matches and battles. The stadium was a pale yellow colour; the same as the planet Saturn while the picture of the dorms mascot Kronos was in the middle of it.

As Team Nova Flare entered, they quickly noticed Team Atlas was training very hard.

Carlos was over at the bench press, lifting dumbbells and also looking very depressed. Max guessed this was due to Morgan's possession. He couldn't know how hard it must have been for him to lose his best friend.

Max turned his attention over to Santina who was over at a launch zone and continuously practicing her launch and then attacking a stone bey statue with her bey.

Finally, Max turned his attention to the third person in the room over at an exercise bike. She was wearing a purple zip up hoodie with some added jeans with a hole in the left knee. She also wore plain white sneakers, a golden locket around her neck and silver bangles on her left wrist.

"Well, well," announced the Girl. "If it isn't Team Nova Flare. What brings you here?"

"We…Um…" stuttered Max. "Came to…shine your beys?"

"Real stealthy!" groaned Blaze as she smacked Max over the head.

"Let me guess," chuckled the Girl. "You come to keep an eye on us after what happened in the last few battles."

* * *

><p><em>"Dark move," chuckled Morgan maliciously. "Poison Sting Strike!"<em>

_ The scarlet scorpion rose from the stadium and dark red energy poured from it and began to attack the beys. Next, it rammed its stinger into the center of the stadium, and that's when things got REALLY scary._

_Dark energy shot from the hole the stinger had made like a bullet and began slashing as Quetzalcoatl, smashing off its parts and leaving the deepest scars._

_"Stop!" begged Taylor. "Please stop!" _

_"Never!" barked Morgan gruesomely as the dark energy slashed Taylor across the chest and his legs before throwing him against the wall and then pounding its bey straight into the ground. _

_"My turn!" chuckled Regina as she set her sights on the petrified Linh. "Dark move! Pitch-Black Chaotic Attack!" _

_ The black lady with arrows and a bow appeared and sprouted wings of darkness, in a single moment; darkness spread across the arena and plunged Archangel into the ground. Then, the darkness picked up Linh, and plowed her into the ground with a sickening crunch. _

* * *

><p><em>"End this Huntress!" roared Artemis as the purple and black Huntress appeared and smashed the bottom of the stadium and created an explosion of dark energy. <em>

_Frieda cried out as the explosion sent her flying into the back wall and the same went for her bey._

* * *

><p><em>Regina gave a twisted smile before roaring, "Dark move!"<em>

_Regina gathered a ball of dark energy in her hands and her eyes went pitch black. She then threw the ball of energy at her bey and it radiated with dark lightning._

_"Pitch Black Chaotic Attack!" spat Regina._

_The Woman sprouted wings of dark energy before covering the arena in darkness._

_Aiya watched as her worst fears came to life in front of her. This time, she really did cry._

_The lights in the stadium dimmed and it went cold. Everyone was silent._

_"Hahahahahahahahhahahaha!" laughed Regina. "End this Atlanta!"_

_A dark bolt of lightning appeared and struck Arachne with a crash._

_Aiya cried out as she was flung back from the impact and her bey was smashed into the ground._

* * *

><p>"Yeah," replied Simon. "It's hard not to be careful with all this stuff happening."<p>

The Girl nodded in reply. "I'm Fang Kushina by the way."

"Nice to meet you," greeted Kiara. "Sorry if we're intruding."

"Not at all," replied Fang. "We were just finishing up for the day."

"But why are you booking the whole place?" Blaze asked.

Fang looked around at Carlos and then Santina before leaning in.

"You see," said Fang quietly. "Carlos and Santina have been a bit, paranoid since Linh and Taylor were attacked. I can't blame them but it's affected them greatly. I think they're afraid of losing."

No one replied and it fell silent.

"So," continued Fang. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"No," replied Max. "It's fine. We were just checking up on you."

"Well then," answered Fang. "Maybe you can help me with something?"

Max smiled. "Sure, whatever you need."

Fang pointed at Max and declared, "Max Smith! I challenge you to a battle!"

"Huh?" questioned Max.

"You heard me right," chuckled Fang. "I challenge you."

"But why?" asked Max.

"Because," Fang explained. "I see you as the biggest threat in this competition and I wish to see how much I need to train to beat you or if I'm already there."

Max smirked in reply as he took out his bey. "Aright then. I accept your challenge!" Max held out his bey Flame swordsman for Fang to see.

"Let's see you combat my Guardian Serval!" declared Fang as she held up her bey.

The bey had a gold face bolt with the outline of a Serval cat on gold and had the word Serval scrawled on it. The energy ring is also gold with teeth on them. The performance tip was also gold and the rest of the bey was black.

"Nice!" commented Max. "Let's do this."

* * *

><p>By the time Max and Fang had taken their respected places at the ends of the stadium, Carlos and Santina had come to watch.<p>

"Do you think Max has this?" asked Simon.

"Not sure," replied Kiara. "I've never seen Fang battle, but Max has taken on heaps of tough opponents so I'd say he will win."

"I wouldn't be sure," interrupted Carlos. "Max is powerful, I know that, but Fang can hold her own against the best."

"Three!" cried Fang as she readied her bey.

"Two!" continued Max as he readied Swordsman.

"One!" cried the small crowd composed of Team Nova Flare and Team Atlas watching.

"Let it rip!"

The two bladers let their beys loose and they zoomed into the stadium and circled at full pace.

"Let's end this quick Swordsman!" called out Max. "Attack!"

The red and orange bey spun forward and headed towards Serval.

"You can't beat me that easy!" retorted Fang. "Strike Serval!"

Serval avoided Swordsman's attack and built up power and spun around the arena.

"Hit him now Serval!" commanded Fang as her bey shot forward.

At this time, a golden African cat with black spots and amber eyes appeared. It also has a chain in its maw and looked very deadly. It charged forward just as the Red Knight appeared.

"Strike Swordsman!" roared Max.

The Red Knight's blade illuminated with fire and it swung at the Golden Cat. But Serval was much faster then Max thought and it leapt out the way and struck the Knight in the chest sending him flying back.

Max gave a cry of shock as Serval smashed into his bey and sent it flying back.

"Crap!" cursed Max.

"Told you she was good," commented Carlos.

"Looks like I'll need more power!" exclaimed Max. "Special move! Flame Sword Slash!"

The Red Knight leapt into the air and charged downwards with his flaming sword.

"Oh shit!" commented Fang as Flame Swordsman smashed into her bey from above and created an explosion.

"Yes!" cheered Max as his bey appeared from the smoke and saw Serval wobbling.

"Nice Max!" Simon cheered. "Now keep going!"

"Right!" replied Max. "Special Move! Phoenix Fury!"

The Red Knight held up his sword and a phoenix composed of fire burst from the blade and flew into the air. It gave a fierce cry before diving into Serval and exploding.

Serval appeared from the smoke, wobbling more then before but still remained int the battle.

Fang smirked and held out her hand. Serval spun backwards towards Fang and returned to her.

"Huh?"

"This was really just a test," snickered Fang. "And now I know what I have to do to beat you."

"Seriously?" questioned Max. "You can tell from a battle that lasted a minute?"

"Yep," answered Fang. "Let's go team."

And with that, Team Atlas left with the single words, "Keep your eyes on our match."

"I think we have some new competition," said Blaze.

"Yes we do," replied Max with a smirk.

* * *

><p>"And now for the final match of the qualifying round!" announced Mr. Jones as the students packed into the arena.<p>

"Team Atlas VS Team Raging Spirit! Now let's introduce Team Atlas! First up is the leader of the team! Give it up for Fang Kushina!"

The crowd cheered as Fang entered the arena and waved. She wasn't paying any attention to where she was walking and went right into a wall.

"Next up is Carlos Zepeda Jones!" cried Mr. Jones as the blader entered the stadium. He had a very serious expression on his face.

"And last but not least is Santina De Luca!" Santina entered the arena and waved to the crowd.

"Now for Team Ranging Spirit!" announced Jones. "First up is Mitzuki Uryuu!"

The Cyber Phoenix user entered the arena and gave a short wave and nothing else.

"Next up is Skyliner Walker!"

Sky entered the arena and glanced at everyone but didn't wave. She had black hair and cold blue eyes. She wore a white short-sleeved shirt with a jacket, a scarf and dark black pants held up by a blader's belt.

"And last for the team is Ayami Gin Scarlet!"

Ayami entered the arena and waved to the crowd and blew kisses. She wore a light grey t-shirt with a cupcake on it. She also wore black denim skinny jeans, a golden bracelet and black and white fingerless gloves.

"Now to decide the first battle!" declared Jones as the big screen turned on.

**Fang Kushina VS Mitzuki Uryuu**

"I guess we finally get to see Fang's true power," commented Max.

"Yeah," replied Simon. "I wonder how good she really is."

The two bladers took their respected position sat the stadium and prepared their beys.

"Prepare to lose!" declared Fang.

"Bring it!" replied Mitzuki.

"Three!" cried Fang.

"Two!" added the crowd.

"One!" finished Mitzuki.

"Let it rip!"

Phoenix and Fang shot from their masters launchers and spun into the field.

"I'm going to do this fast!" commented Mitzuki. "Now Phoenix go and…"

"Strike Serval!" roared Fang as her bey smashed into Phoenix and sent it flying back.

"What!" groaned Mitzuki as his bey landed and wobbled.

"Wow!" commented Kiara. "That was fast."

"Yeah," added Blaze.

Mitzuki gritted his teeth as he moved onto the offensive. "Mechanical Rain!"

Phoenix regained its speed and created a red tornado. Next, the tornado ripped off pieces of the stadium that were metal and suspended them into the air.

"I don't think so!" interrupted Fang. "Special move! Wrap!"

Serval began to spin faster, and Mitzuki gasped as his tornado fell apart and the metal it was holding collapsed onto his bey.

"What the heck!" Mitzuki bundled up his hand into fists.

"That air constriction from my move stuffed up your tornado's current flow and caused it to collapse!" explained Fang.

"Then I'll try something else!" Mitzuki retorted. "Cyber Drive!"

"I won't count on it!" replied Fang. "Special move! Chain Link!"

The Mechanical Phoenix appeared and charged at the Golden Cat. But once again, it proved its power as it leapt out of the way and swung the chain so that it smacked Phoenix away.

The crowd gasped as the Cat pounced and mercilessly attacked the Phoenix.

"End this!" ordered Fang as Serval leapt into the air and sent the chain crashing into Phoenix, pounding it into the ground.

Mitzuki fell to his knees, his mouth open and his face in shock.

"The winner is Fang!" announced Jones and the Saturn Dorm students burst into applause.

"She's good," was the only thing Max could say. "Interesting."

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you all enjoyed this chapter and remember, <span>PLEASE REVIEW!<span> **


	25. Chapter 25: Riding the Skies

**I'm back! And here is a quick update as apology for taking so long to post each chapter. Hope you all enjoy this one, and ****PRETTY PLEASE REVIEW! **

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><p><strong>RESPONSE TO REVIEIWS: <strong>

**Tiger Demon of Light: I'm glad to know you liked the chapter and I'll work on Ayami to make her more in character in the next chapter. **

**GoldenAngel999: It's nice to know that your fine with Frieda and Morgan getting infected with darkness and getting possessed. I hoped that you wouldn't be too angry with me for doing it. Anyway, I glad to know you liked the chapter and here is the update you asked for!**

**Shadowritergirl: Wow, you really must like this story if you said GOOD four times! I will keep up the good work and update!**

**AKA99: You asked who was going to fight in the final battle right? Well, I can't actually tell you but I can give you a sort of timeline of what is going to happen without details. **

* * *

><p><strong>SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>As the tournament progresses, more people are going to be attacked by darkness and end up like Frieda and Aiya. <strong>

**Even if the possessed people are defeated, it only creates more problems. **

**The final battle of the tournament will be epic and will decide the winning dorm/team of the tournament. **

**This is when the plot switches over to the "Chaotic Order" arc, which is where the Dark Figure and the Dark Lord's true plans, come to light. **

**Then, the final arc of the story, "Dark Cometh," begins and will feature the most brutal battles so far while also revealing the final part's of the dark Lord's plan.**

**Now for the chapter! Hope you all enjoy and please review!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 25: Riding the Skies<strong>

"I was thinking," interrupted Max as Team Nova Flare watched as Fang walked over to her team after finishing her battle.

"Thinking about what?" answered Simon curious.

"That we're either going to face Team King Destructors or Team Crimson. All of which have at least one possessed person on it. But this also means either Team Raging Spirit or Team Atlas is going to face them."

"So?" questioned Blaze.

"That means they run the risk of ending up like Fried and Aiya. You saw what happened to Taylor and Linh as well. Who knows how injured the next victim might be."

"I guess we just have to hope that they can deal with it," Kiara said.

* * *

><p>"With that!" announced Mr. Jones. "Team Atlas has claimed one win for their dorm! This puts pressure on Team Raging Spirit's next balder to win or they and their dorm are out! Now let's see who will be battling next!"<p>

Everyone turned their attention to the screen as the images of people flickered around before stopping.

**Santina De Luca VS Sky Hiwatari**

'So it's up to me to get this win,' thought Santina as she made her way to the stadium. 'This is my chance to show everyone that Team Atlas is here to win and won't end up like Regina and Morgan or like Aiya and Frieda.'

"Prepare to lose!" declared Santina as she held out her bey, Dawn Deiopea. The fusion wheel had twelve edges and resembled a sun. The energy ring was a pale sea green colour and had indents that look like wind breeze. It also had a steel blue spin track with three wings and a white performance tip. Lastly, its face bolt had a woman's face with a breeze on it.

"Bring it," replied Sky as she held out her bey, Serpent Changeling. It appeared to be made of stones including, diamond, emerald, ruby, opal and pearl. It had a black, red and green energy ring. A black fusion wheel with diamond on the edge and the performance tip was black and had diamond as well.

"This won't be easy for you," sated Santina. "I will win!"

"Let's go!" replied Sky as she readied her bey and Santina did also.

"3!" cried Santina.

"2!" added the crowd.

"One!" finished Sky.

"Let It Rip!"

* * *

><p>BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!<p>

"Oh my phone." Kiara reached into her pocket and brought out her cellphone.

"What is it?" asked Blaze as she leaned in to get a better look at Kiara's phone.

"It's a text from Aiya," replied Kiara concerned as she read the text. "She says she has something important to tell us and it's urgent."

"We need to go then," Max stated as he stood up. "Let's move."

"No," replied Simon as he stood up and stepped in front of Max. "You need to stay here incase something else strange happens. Me and Kiara will go see what Aiya wants."

Max nodded and sat back down with Blaze while Kiara and Simon left.

* * *

><p>"Is there a reason you did not want to interfere with the last battle?" asked Hermes as he bowed in front of the Dark Figure.<p>

"Yes," replied the Dark Figure as he sipped some wine from a glass. "You see, we've been going so hard that people will start to get suspicious if every second person get's attacked or becomes a puppet. Therefore, we just need to wait."

"In all due respect," piped up Athena who was bowing next to Hermes. "But isn't it worth gaining a few more puppets?"

The Dark Figure stopped sipping his wine and placed it down on his desk. He strode over to Athena and bent down so that they were at eye level. He grabbed her chin and said, "You dare question my decision?"

"No," panicked Athena. "Of course not my Lord."

"Then you should be more wise and do as you are told," growled the Dark Figure as he spat in Athena's face before standing up and walking over to the window.

"Forgive me my Lord,"apologised Athena as she wiped the spit from her face. "I did not mean to offend you."

The Dark Figure snorted in replyas he starred out the window.

"What is the next phase of your plan?" asked Hermes, changing the subject.

"The _Purge_," replied the Dark Figure.

"Our Master will be most impressed that the project as progressed this far already," stated Hermes.

"Yes, the time of the _Purge_ is nearing us, and soon the Dark Lord will rise up and usher us into a New World!" The Dark Figure laughed crazily as he held up his hand and his purple Crest of Chaos glowed.

* * *

><p>"What was so urgent?" asked Simon as he and Kiara entered the medical wing.<p>

"It's Frieda," replied Aiya as she sat up min her bed and looked over at the sleeping Frieda. She had gone pale and the black dots on her body had spread. A drip was also attached to her arm.

Kiara covered her mouth in shock. "It's gotten this bad?"

Aiya lowered her head and nodded.

"Does this mean this will happen to you, Linh and Taylor as well?" questioned Simon as he went over to Frieda's bed and looked at her statistics on the computer screen. He then looked over to the beds on the other side of the room to see Taylor and Linh sleeping.

"I guess so," answered Aiya sadly.

"I don't get it," whined Simon as he studied the computer screen. "According to this, Frieda is completely healthy and her brain waves are normal. It's like the black dots are somehow hurting her without _actually _hurting her."

"That doesn't make sense," interrupted Kiara.

"That's exactly my point," responded Simon as he turned to face Kiara and Aiya. "For no apparent reason, Frieda is slowly getting worse. And medical science have no way of figuring out why this is happening."

"Looks like we've hit another dead end then," sighed Kiara with annoyance.

* * *

><p>"Let It Rip!"<p>

The crowd cheered and roared as Deiopea and Changeling spun into the field and landed in the center. They then moved away from each other and spun around the outside of the arena.

Santina waited for Sky to make a move, but she wouldn't budge. She remained completely still and focused on her bey.

"Aren't you going to attack?" asked Santina impatiently.

Sky didn't reply and Santina growled. "Fine! If you're not going to do anything then I'll do it!"

With that, Deiopea changed course and shot towards Changeling who was still circling the arena.

"Try this on for size," cried Santina as her bey smashed into Changeling and sent it flying into the air.

"Now way this could end this quickly," muttered Max in shock.

"Somehow I think Sky's hiding something," replied Blaze as everyone watched Changeling falling back down to the arena.

There was a crash, but Changeling had survived and began circling the arena again. Santina gritted her teeth.

"Still not going to make a move?" questioned Santina.

"You'll see my power soon enough," answered Sky.

"Oh right I'll attack again then!" declared Santina. "Special move! Tornado Currents!"

Deiopea spun faster and the wind in the stadium suddenly picked up. Santina smirked and a couple of tornado's, similar to Kyoya's King Lion Tearing Blast, appeared.

The crowd gasped as the tornados spun towards Changeling and crashed into it, sending it flying to the other side of the arena.

"You have to give Sky credit for resilience," commented Max. "Because she's letting Santina attack non-stop."

"I can't figure out what Sky's trying to do," added Blaze.

"Let's try this now!" roared Santina. "Breeze Patience!"

A small breeze was released from Deiopea, and the bey suddenly vanished from sight, sending the crowd in awe.

"Confused?" asked Santina cheerfully, but Sky didn't reply.

"Strike now!" commanded Santina as Deiopea reappeared and swiftly attacked Changeling before sending a mirage of attacks at it, slowly pushing it back near the edge of the arena.

"This is the end!" declared Santina.

"No," replied Sky calmly. "It's just beginning!"

"Huh?"

"Special move!" exclaimed Sky. "Venom of Darkness!"

As Changeling was pushed to the edge of the arena, it used the power of Deiopea's strike to fly into the air.

"What!" cried Santina in shock as Changeling grew spikes of obsidian and came crashing down upon her bey.

"She was stalling that whole time," Max commented, impressed.

"And now she's just flipped it all on Santina," added Blaze also impressed.

'I can't believe she just did that and it worked,' thought Santina frustrated.

"Hit them now Changeling!" ordered Sky proudly as her bey swiftly sped towards Deiopea and crashed into it, knocking it back, before striking again.

* * *

><p><em>The Medical Wing<em>

"Wow," was the only thing Simon could say as he watched the TV screen showing the match.

"This Sky girl is good," added Aiya from her bed.

Kiara meanwhile had gone over to one of the computers that wasn't is use and used it to look up Serpent Changeling.

"This doesn't make sense," interrupted Kiara. "There's no information on a bey called Serpent Changeling, or any kind of Changeling bey for that matter."

"Maybe that's why her bey was able to survive all of those string attacks," replied Aiya. "Maybe there's something special about it."

"It sure looks that way," answered Simon as he returned his attention back to the TV.

* * *

><p>'I can't believe this is happening,' thought Santina. 'She's beating me, despite my strong start. I can't let all that training go to waste.'<p>

"Special move!" roared Santina. "Juno's Guidance!"

Deiopea glowed a sea green colour shorty before changing at Changeling and knocking it back.

"She must just raised her attack power," commented Blaze.

"I've got a feeling this one's going to be close," replied Max.

"Let's try this again!" Santina shouted as her bey smashed into Changeling again and sent t flying back before striking once more.

The crowd cheered for Santina as she once again took the lead in the battle.

"Keep pushing her back Deiopea!" commanded Santina as her bey continued to send strong attacks at Changeling.

"This will finish it!" cheered Santina. "Special move! Tornado Currents!"

In a flash, a series of tornados appeared once again and circled around Changeling, trapping the bey.

"You got this!" cheered fang from her team's waiting spot.

The tornado's closed in and crashed into Changeling.

"It appears the winner is…" started Jones but was shocked when the tornados were knocked away and Changeling coated itself in black fire.

"Special move." Sky smirked as she said those words. "Death and Rebirth!"

Santina gasped in shock as Changeling sped towards her bey and began to circle it, creating a black tornado that trapped her bey in the process. The crowd then watched as Changeling hammered Deiopea with heavy blows, knocking it into the tornado, which sent it back into the middle.

"The end is here," declared Sky as she threw her hand into the air. "You know what to do Changeling!"

Changeling shot into the air and was lost in the tornado. Suddenly, it changed colour and was now a fiery red colour. Next, Changeling reappeared, falling from the sky and was headed towards the trapped Deiopea.

"This is it!" exclaimed Sky as her bey smashed into Deiopea and sent it flying out of the arena.

Santina fell to her knees in shock. She couldn't believe she had lost.

"And the winner is Sky Hiwatari!" announced Jones. "That means this next battle will decide the winning team!"

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued: Thanks for reading this chapter and the next will see Ayami Gin Scarlet facing off against Carlos Zepeda Jones for the right for their team to move onto the next round! <strong>

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER AND PLEASE REVIEW! **


	26. Chapter 26: Worth Fighting For

**Here we are with chapter 26, and by far now the longest story I have ever written on this website. I updated early again because we had a few extra days off from school so I had the time to bust this chapter out so we could move onto the semi-finals round. I have most of the Chaotic Order arc planned out now so it should be easier and quicker to type once the tournament arc finishes. **

**Now for the reply to the great reviews you gave me!**

* * *

><p><strong>SwiftTheWritinMagician: It is getting more interesting and you could say this Dark Lord is even more powerful then Voldemort. <strong>

**GoldenAngel999: This story just getting fired up and the next few battles will be more intense. Oh, the reason for the black dots and Frieda's decline in heath will be explained soon but it will most likely be after the tournament and in the "Chaotic Order" arc. **

**AKA99: Yes, The Purge is very interesting and is horrific once you discover fully what it is. Medical science can't figure out what's happening, no kind of medical science can figure it out because nothing like this has ever happened before. **

**Tiger Demon of Light: It makes me happy when people describe my story as so good that it's like watching the anime! That was sort of my goal with this actually, to write a story that could be made into an anime. Thanks for telling me that extra info about Ayami because I needed it when writing this chapter. **

**Alpha Dragonis: This story is about to take a dark turn from the semifinals onwards. And it just get's darker from there. Especially when we get to the "Dark Cometh" arc. **

**MarsTwilight: Yes, I was hoping that suspense would have made its way into this story with me dropping hints about stuff here and there. For now, you're just going to have to be patient as I type out the chapters. **

**Now onto the chapter, you know what to do. ****PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! **

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><p><strong>Chapter 26: Worth Fighting For<strong>

"Alright kids," announced Mr. Jones. "Now for the final battle for the qualifying round! Battling for Team Atlas and for the Saturn Dorm, give it up for Carlos Zepeda Jones!"

Carlos stepped up to the arena focusing all of his attention on his bey that he clutched in his hand.

"And fighting for Team Raging Spirit and the Mercury Dorm!" added Jones. "Give it up for Ayami Gin Scarlet!"

The spotlight fell onto Gin who stood with the rest of her team. She didn't respond to Jones' call and rolled her eyes.

Jones' sighed in annoyance. "I mean, give it up for Gin!"

Gin smirked as she entered the arena and waved to the crowd.

"Now prepare yourself bladers!" announced Jones.

'I'm going to win for you Morgan,' thought Carlos.

"Prepare to lose to my Whirlwind Artemis!" declared Gin as she held up her bey. Its fusion wheel had jagged edges on one side and the other was completely smooth and the energy ring was light blue with a white outline.

"My Thermal Wolf won't lose this battle," replied Carlos as he held out his bey.

"Then how about we agree to disagree?" suggested Gin as she connected her bey to her launcher.

"Fine by me," answered Carlos as he readied Wolf.

"Carlos really wants to win this battle," commented Max. "For Morgan."

"Yeah," replied Blaze. "But I have a feeling it's not going to be an easy one for him."

"Three!" cried Carlos.

"Two!" added the Crowd.

"One!" finished Gin.

"Let It Rip!"

Carlos roared as did Gin when their beys disconnected from their launchers and spun into the arena and quickly clashed.

"For Morgan!" exclaimed Carlos as Wolf moved away from Artemis and then shot forward crashing into the opposing bey and sending it flying into the other end.

"Wanna fight dirty huh?" snapped Gin. "Okay then. Here I…"

"Wolf!" interrupted Carlos and his bey smashed into Artemis knocking it into the center of the arena where Wolf followed.

"Hey!" snapped Gin angrily. "I'm trying to battle here! Now be a gentlemen and let me…"

"Barrage attack!" ordered Carlos as his bey circled Artemis, striking it numerous times in the process and landing heavy blows.

"ENOUGH!" burst Gin, catching everyone's attention.

The stadium went silent and Carlos looked up at his opponent.

"I'm trying to have a proper bey battle here," growled Gin. "But you just keep interrupting me! Seriously, bey battles are not all about wining so why don't you be the bigger man and let me make my move!"

"I…" stuttered Carlos but didn't know how to finish.

"Now then," continued Gin more calmly. "Arrow of Fate!"

A woman wearing a halter neck dress and had her tied in a messy bun and also wielding a bow and arrow appeared. She then took aim and fired it at wolf, smashing it into the other side of the arena.

Carlos and the crowd were speechless as Gin smiled proudly. "That's better."

Carlos cursed under his breath before going in to strike. "Wolf! Blazing Bite Attack!"

Wolf glowed a light blue colour before charging towards Artemis. A grey raging wolf with a light blue aura appeared as well and rammed into the Woman with the Bow. At the same time, Artemis was knocked back from the attack and lost its balance as Wolf struck its spin track.

"You're not the only one with a fancy special move!" cried Gin. "Go! Destiny's Arrow!"

The Woman with the Bow appeared once again but drew three arrows this time.

The crowd gasped as Gin cried, "Fire!" and the Woman launched three arrows towards Wolf.

"Prepare yourself Wolf!" warned Carlos as three powerful arrows bombarded his bey, knocking it back.

"How'd you like them apples?" asked Gin.

"Nice," complemented Carlos. "But now it's my turn! Special Move! Furious Ware Wolf Attack!"

Wolf suddenly multiplied and the copies spread throughout the arena.

"Cheap parlor trick huh?" commented Gin unimpressed.

"It's more then a parlor trick," replied Carlos. "Howl Wolf!"

Multiply wolves appeared and howled; creating a sonic vibration so loud that Gin and everyone else in the stadium covered their ears. At the same time, the vibration was so strong that it knocked Artemis off balance.

"You've got to be kidding me?" groaned Gin in annoyance.

"Strike Wolf!" ordered Carlos as all the copies of Wolf shot forward and smashed into Artemis. With all them attacking at the same time, it was impossible to see which was the real one.

"Those clones aren't so tough," stated Gin. "So I'll make fine work of them! Soar up high Artemis!"

Artemis evaded the clones and spun to the edge of the arena where it shot up into the air.

'Aerial attack,' thought Carlos. 'But I have no time to counter it.'

"Special move!" exclaimed Gin. "Shooting Star Barrage!"

As Artemis charged downwards, The Woman appeared once again and this time drew many arrows.

"It's going to be an arrow storm," commented Max.

"Carlos better prepare himself," replied Blaze.

"Don't think we were prepared for this Morgan," whispered Carlos to himself. "Get ready Wolf!"

"Today's forecast is cloudy with a chance of arrows!" cheered Gin sarcastically as her arrows toppled onto Wolf, destroying all the clones in the process.

"Hold your ground Wolf!" commanded Carlos as Wolf did its best to avoid the infinite number of arrows raining down from the sky.

"I think I'll end this now," stated Gin.

"Its been fun," replied Carlos. "But yeah, let's finish this!"

"Let's go Artemis!" roared Gin. "Special move! Whirlwind Soaring Crash!"

"Bring it!" challenged Carlos as Wolf and Artemis shot up into the air.

"End this!" exclaimed Gin as she threw her hand into the air.

Artemis smashed down onto Wolf, knocking it down towards the arena.

"This is for you Morgan," whispered Carlos to himself.

"If he doesn't do something he'll lose," gasped Max.

"Special move!" roared Carlos as he pointed at the sky. "Wolf Return!"

Carlos' eyes glowed blue and he was surrounded by a light blue aura. Wolf suddenly shot out a light blue stream of energy that smashed into the stadium and sent it smashing back into Artemis, creating a sky battle.

"Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" exclaimed Carlos and Gin simultaneously as their beys clashed.

The crowd gasped and fell silent as they watched the tremendous battle go on. The Woman appeared and faced off with the Wolf. Wolf howled and charged but the Woman knocked it back with her bow. She went to prepare her arrow when Wolf lunged forward bitting her arm. They bey beasts then both charged into each other.

"WOLF!" roared Carlos.

"ATREMIS!" cried Gin.

"FINISH IT NOW!" exclaimed the two bladers as their beys finally fell back to the arena. There was a loud crash and an explosion, in which Artemis was sent flying out of the stadium and into a wall.

The crowd gasped as the smoke cleared and Wolf was shown to be slowly spinning.

"The winner is Carlos Zepeda Jones!" announced Jones and the crowd burst into applause.

"That means we either face Team King Destructors," stated Max. "Team Crimson or Team Atlas."

"Two of which have possessed bladers in them," added Blaze.

Gin just stood there in shock, her mouth open and her eyes starring at the stadium where Wolf still spun.

"Great battle," said Carlos as he recalled Wolf.

"But," stuttered Gin. "How…did…it…shouldn't…of…been…possible."

"I hope to battle you again," replied Carlos as he walked away and saluted to the cheering Saturn dorm kids.

"And with that!" announced Jones. "Team Atlas advance to the semifinal round! As for the remaining dorm team, we will explain what will be happening tomorrow. So rest up teams."

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><p>"We finally move onto the semifinals," chuckled the Dark Figure as he sat at a small wooden table. In front of him was a glass of wine; next to it was a bottle. Taking up most of the table was a chessboard with the black pieces on his side.<p>

Suddenly, a strange shadow rose from nowhere.

**_"_****_My plan is going forward well," chuckled the Dark Lord. "These pathetic little battles at this tournament are fueling the ritual for my resurrection well. I can feel my power returning to me as we speak."_**

"You better keep resting," suggested the Dark Figure. "You want to get your full strength back as quick as possible."

**_"_****_Just make sure the job is done," warned the Dark Lord. _**

"Oh believe me," responded the dark Figure as he sipped some wine. "I will."

The shadow vanished and the Dark Figure placed his glass down before picking up a pawn piece.

"Soon Crimson Hero," spat the Dark Figure. "All of your servants will be gone, and you will be alone. There, I shall knock you out and seize the world!"

Moving the pawn, he took it over to the other side of the board and used it to knock over the White King.

"Mwahahahahahahahahahahahaha!" laughed the Dark Figure.

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><p><strong>I got this out pretty quickly, and I hope you liked it. Now, I'm pretty sure some of you are wondering what I'm going to do with the Autumn team, Spirit Burst. Well, next chapter will be a "Wild card" round, in which Spirit Burst face off with another already qualified team to get into the semifinals. In addition, it will be a continuous battle where after a balder is defeated, another from the team comes on and this continues until one team has no bladers left. Basically how Team Gan Gan Galaxy battled when they faced the Garcias. <strong>

**Now, because of this the next chapter will be longer because it will be basically three battles in one! I'll try to update soon and remember, ****PLEASE REVIEW! **


	27. Chapter 27: Battle Frontier

**Thanks for all the reviews again guys, really appreciate it and please, pretty please ****KEEP REVIEWING! ****I basically run on reviews, so the more I get, the more pumped I am to write the next chapter. So, ****PLEAE REVIEW! **

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><p><strong>Now for review responses: <strong>

**AKA99: The Purge will hopefully make for a good plotline. And it's just around the corner. The Purge itself will be apart of both the "Chaotic Order" arc and the "Dark Cometh" arc. **

**Nightmare Princess of Darkness: Glad to know you liked the chapter and that you love it. I hope you continue to love it as well. **

**Alpha Dragonis: This will be a knockout battle but there won't be any cheating going on here like Team Garcia's did. **

**SwiftTheWritingMagician: Now, when you reviewed you pointed some things out that I need to improve on and I've taken this into account. Which is why I've tried to improve on my story with this next chapter. I tried to incorporate what I could into this chapter but I won't really be able to take what you said fully and use it until the tournament ends and the "Chaotic Order" arc begins. Still, I hope I made the chapter more interesting. Oh, and the part where you said that all the chapters in this story are about the battle and that it's starting to get boring. I can see what you're trying to say but what would beyblade be without bey battles? That's kind of the point in the shows and the point in this story. But you're right, there's too much focus on the battles and not enough character interaction and development. Thanks for the advice. **

**MidnightEclipse15: You're awesome for describing my story as awesome. I'm glad you decided to check out my story and thought it was good! I will keep up the good work! And please continue to follow it and review! **

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><p><strong>Now then time for the chapter. It was originally shorter then this and was just going to be the knockout battle because I didn't want this chapter to be overly long, but I'm taking Swift's advice and I'm adding a little on the Dark Figure and his plan to it. Still, over 6000 words isn't that much right? Now, <strong>**PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 27: Battle Frontier <strong>

"Do you think it's a good idea we interrupt him?" asked Hermes as he and Athena rushed down the hall towards their Master's room.

"Of course," retorted Athena. "This is urgent, and the Master must know."

"But this could be bad for us," argued Hermes. "Think about it. He'll be angry with us for letting this happen."

"True," Athena shrugged. "But if we don't tell him, think of how he'll react when he finds out that we didn't inform him."

Hermes thought for a second and realized that Athena was correct. It would be smarter to suffer the wrath of their Master for letting this problem come up then risk him finding out on his own and then punishing them for lying and stuffing up.

Hermes sighed. "Fine."

They came to the Master's room, and Athena lightly knocked on the door.

"Enter," growled the Dark Figure as the doors opened by themselves. He sat at his desk with the usual glass of wine in his hand. The fireplace had wood burning in it, providing warmth to the room.

"What is it?" barked the Dark Figure impatiently as he sipped some wine. "You know this is my private time."

Athena and Hermes kneeled to the ground in response.

"We have a slight problem," explained Athena.

"Oh goody," groaned the Dark Figure in annoyance.

"The puppets are starting to resist the dark power," finished Hermes.

"What!" roared the Dark Figure as he sat up and threw his glass against the wall. "How did this happen?"

Athena bit her lip and Hermes trembled before answering. "It appears prolonged exposure to the dark power when fully applied… wears off…"

The Dark Figure grit his teeth in anger before walking over to the bookshelf and punching the wall. "We can't afford any kind of setback again!"

"Forgive us Master," apologized Athena.

"You better hope I can fix this," sneered the Dark Figure as he approached his disciples and signaled them to stand. "Or I'll hand your heads for it."

Athena and Hermes gulped as they lead their Master out of the room and back down the hall. They came to a room with double doors. Hermes reached for both knobs and turned them before pushing open the doors.

The inside of the room was a secret training area, full of bey stadiums and other bey training areas. In it was all of the Dark Figure's so called puppets, plus Jaden and Luke who had also joined them.

As soon as the Dark Figure entered, all of the bladers in there stopped what they were doing and formed a line and kneeled down. In order from left to right was Jaden, Luke, Artemis, Regina and Morgan.

"Who's the trouble maker?" asked the Dark Figure as he walked up and down the line before stopping at Artemis. "Causing more trouble I see?"

Artemis didn't reply and looked down at the ground.

"I am your Master!" snapped the Dark Figure as he slapped Artemis knocking her to the ground. Artemis groaned and she tasted blood.

"I'm not your slave anymore," retorted Artemis as she stood up. "Your dark power can't influence me forever."

"How dare you speak to the Master that way!" hissed Professor Viper as he appeared from the shadows, a black long whip in hand. He growled as he stepped towards Artemis but the Dark Figure threw out his hand to stop him.

"She's mine." The Dark Figure stepped forward and held up his hand to reveal his Chaos Crest. It glowed a dark purple colour and Artemis was suddenly surrounded by purple aura. "Sink in deepest darkness."

Artemis screamed as she was lifted off her feet and the dark purple aura forced its way into her. The Dark Figure laughed as Artemis was thrown against the back wall with a crash.

"Viper," chuckled the Dark Figure. "Finish her off would you?"

"Certainly Master," hissed Viper in reply as he stepped towards Artemis who was on her back. As she went to get up, Viper whipped her in the back, leaving a soar red mark.

Artemis screamed as she fell back down and Viper whipped her a few more times.

The Dark Figure brought back his hand and his crest stopped glowing and Artemis stopped screaming. When she got up her eyes had gone pitch black and she completely ignored the tremendous pain in her back. She had been repossessed.

"Anyone else wants to step out of line?" The Dark Figure scanned the line.

"No Master," answered the Puppets, shortly followed by Luke and Jaden.

The Dark Figure stepped towards his non-possessed soldiers. "You two better battle to my expectations."

"Of course," replied Jaden.

"We would never let you down Master," added Luke.

"Good." The Dark Figure turned to leave the room. "Keep a close eye on all of them would you Viper?"

"Of course master," Viper bowed.

"You two are very lucky," shot the Dark Figure as he turned to look at his Disciples. "Now, show me how Unmei is progressing."

Athena and Hermes led their Master to a different room. This one was darker, colder and smaller. Sitting in the center of the room with her legs crossed and bey in hand was Unmei. Her hair was covering her face and dark energy was circling herself and the room.

"How have you been?" asked the Dark Figure with his hands behind his back.

"Fine," replied Unmei as her eyes flashed jet black. "Every moment my power is growing stronger just as you said it would."

The Dark Figure smirked. "Good."

'Perfect,' thought the Dark Figure. 'With her power growing at this rate she will become the ultimate puppet and then later the ultimate sacrifice for the Dark Lord's Ritual.'

"Keep up your training," He said as he turned to leave. "You're time to reveal yourself is coming."

The three figures left the room, closing the door behind them. Unmei smirked. "I can't wait."

She stood up and held up her arms and the dark energy glowed a bright purple colour and moved between her hands. The energy grew and the ball of energy grew also. She grabbed the ball, turned around and flung it at the wall. The ball burst through it and continued on, destroying all the walls in its way until there weren't any more. She then pointed at the roof and a stream of dark energy shot out of her hand and blew a hole in the roof. She looked up at the night sky and laughed maliciously.

Suddenly, the dark shadow entered the room.

**_"_****_Hello Unmei. How has your day been?"_**

"It has been good my Lord," responded Unmei as she bowed for the shadow.

**_"_****_Good, because I need you to be fresh and powerful for your upcoming battle in the tournament. I want you to show them all how powerful you are and why they should fear you and me."_**

"It will be done my Lord," Unmei smirked sinisterly. "No one shall stand in your way. No one shall stop you from rising up and sealing the world in eternal darkness."

**_"_****_Very well. I shall leave you now. Continue your training. Your power will lead your Master to salvation." _**

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><p>Max yawned as he and Team Nova Flare made their way down to the stadium to see what would be happening regarding the last team that was yet to battle: Team Spirit Burst.<p>

The students packed into the stadium waiting for the next battle that was yet to come.

"Now students," announced Mr. Jones. "As you know, there are an odd number of teams in this competition, meaning one team had no opponent to face. So, we are about to begin the Wild Card round!"

The students cheered, excited for another battle.

"Because of this," continued Jones. "A team that has already won their previous battle will fight with Team Spirit Burst to keep their spot in the semifinals. Now first, let's introduce the members of Team Spirit Burst. First off we have Sierra Crystals!"

Max watched as his rival and friend entered the stadium and waved to the crowd. He hadn't seen Sierra in a while since the tournament started.

"Next up is the blader everyone calls Des," continued Jones. "Give it up for Destiny Heart!"

The girl known as Destiny Heart entered the stadium. She wore a black tee with a red rose in the middle. Over this was a red leather jacket. She also wore tight black pants and brown combat boots.

"And last but not least," added Jones. "Give it up for Trace Styles!"

The final member of the team entered the stadium and waved to the crowd. He wore a red shirt with the top button undone with some of it tucked in to his silky black pants and the rest was out. He also wore black shoes.

"Now," announced Jones. "To decide which team will battle!"

Everyone turned their heads to the giant screen as it flashed with images of the four teams who had already made into the semifinals. Suddenly it stopped on a picture of Team Nova Flare.

Blaze groaned in annoyance. "You cannot be serious."

Max saw Sierra smirk, and he knew why.

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><p><em>"<em>_Go again!" commanded Max. "Flame Sword Slash!" _

_Flame Swordsman appeared and launched at Thunder Angel. The bey smashed into Thunder Angel from above and there was an explosion of flames. _

_When the dust cleared, Thunder Angel was at Sierra's feet. _

_"__Not bad," said Sierra as she picked up her bey._

_"__You're pretty good too," replied Max as his bey returned to him. "But it appears I'm Number 1." _

_"__I wouldn't bet on it," interrupted Ninel. _

_"__Huh?" questioned Max._

_"__She's right," replied Sierra. "I wasn't using my full power in this match. I was just seeing your strength. Next time will be the true battle to decide who's stronger." _

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><p>'Looks like we'll finally settle it,' thought Max with a smirk.<p>

"Would Team Nova Flare please step up to the plate!" called out Jones.

Team Nova Flare made their way to the arena and stood on the other side, opposite to Team Spirit Burst.

"Now to explain the rules," announced Jones. "This will be a knock out battle. Two bladers will face off, but even if one loses, the other blader must keep battling against the next blader. This goes on until one team has no bladers left! Now to make things fair, Team Nova Flare must have one blader sit out."

The Team huddled up together to discuss.

"I'm definitely going in," stated Max. "Me and Sierra have a score to settle."

"I only got to battle in tag team last time," commented Kiara. "So I think I should battle."

Simon and Blaze looked at each other.

"Rock, paper scissors?" suggested Max.

"Fine."

"Rock, paper scissors," said Simon and Blaze at the same time before throwing something out. Simon had thrown rock while Blaze had thrown Scissors.

"Damn it," cursed Blaze. "I knew I should have gone paper."

"Looks like you're sitting this one out," said Kiara.

Blaze groaned. "Fine. I didn't want to do this anyway."

"Blaze will be the one sitting out," stated Simon to Jones.

"Very well," responded Jones. "Then Teams prepare your first blader."

Trace stepped up to the plate while Simon did the same.

"Here we go," declared Simon as he held out Gryphos.

"Don't expect an easy win," replied Trace as he held out his Night Eagle. The face bolt had a picture of one side of an Eagle's face on it with the eye glowing red. The energy ring was purple while the fusion wheel was red. The spin track had four claws sticking out of it while the performance tip was black.

"Let's begin the Wild Card Round Knockout battle!" announced Jones.

Simon and Trace prepared their beys and began the countdown.

"Three!" cried Trace.

"Two!" added the crowd.

"One!" finished Simon.

"Let It Rip!"

Gryphos and Eagle spun into battle before quickly clashing.

"You got this Simon!" cheered Max from the sidelines.

"Kick his but Trace!" added Sierra from the sidelines as well.

"Sorry Trace!" cried Simon from the other side of the arena. "But I'm going to take this one!"

Trace smirked in reply. "We'll see about that! Go Eagle!"

Eagle broke away from Gryphos and spun to the edge of the arena.

"Strike Eagle!" commanded Trace and his bey shot forwards towards Gryphos.

"I don't think so!" interrupted Simon. "Gryphos, dodge!"

In a swift movement, Gryphos dodged Eagle's attack and then smashed into it, knocking it back.

Simon smiled, proud with his move. "You're going to have to do better then that!"

"Oh I will," replied Trace as he threw his hand out. "Power up Eagle!"

Eagle began to circle around the arena and built up energy. The crowd cheered for Trace as he went to make his move.

"Eagle!" exclaimed Trace. "Mirage Attack!"

Eagle shot forward so fast that this time; Gryphos had no time to move and was sent flying back from Eagle's assault.

"No problem," retaliated Simon as Gryphos went to strike back. "Hit him Gryphos!"

Gryphos shot forward in turn to attack Eagle, but it quickly turned away and dodged the strike.

Simon growled. "Again Gryphos!"

Once more, Gryphos shot forward and attempted to assault Eagle, but Trace simply commanded his bey to dodge and escape.

"He's trying to waste Gryhos' energy by tempting Simon to attack him over and over again," explained Blaze as she watched the battle. "I knew I should have gone in."

"Don't count Simon out yet," answered Kiara as she folded her arms. "I'm sure Simon will figure it out soon enough."

"Keep going Gryphos!" ordered Simon as Gryphos shot forward again, this time only just managing to catch Eagle, who got away anyway.

'Damn it,' thought Simon. 'This is getting me nowhere.'

"Maybe you should you fight smart," suggested Drake as the dragon human hybrid spirit appeared beside him.

'Not now,' thought Simon as he rolled his eyes.

"I'm trying to help you," spat Drake impatiently.

'Well tell me what I'm doing wrong,' thought Simon in reply.

"You're playing his game," explained Drake. "You attack, he dodges. And then it happens over and over again. Eventually your bey has no power left and his has enough to take you out.'

'I can't believe I didn't see that,' thought Simon.

"Well," continued Drake. "Aren't you going to make a smart move now?"

"Right!" cried Simon. "Here I go! Power up Gryphos!"

Gryphos aborted its latest attack and moved to the edge of the arena where it built up power.

"Go! Burst Blast!" Simon pointed at Eagle and Gryphos burst in flames before sprinting towards it.

"Dodge Eagle!" commanded Trace, but Gryphos was moving too fast and it easily smashed into Eagle and knocked it the other side of the arena.

Trace smirked. "This just got interesting."

"You bet it did," answered Simon.

"But your bey still lost a lot of power via its reckless attacks before," explained Trace.

"Doesn't mean I can't win!" replied Simon. "Attack again Gryphos!"

As Eagle attempted to regain its balance, Gryphos shot forward and smashed into it again, sending it flying into the other side of the arena.

"Quick Eagle!" warned Trace. "Get ready before…"

"Gryphos!" interrupted Simon as his bey sent a mirage of attacks at Eagle, stopping it from regaining balance and smashing it all around the arena.

"Looks like Simon is about to put this away," commented Max.

"Looks like it," nodded Kiara.

"Don't think I go down this easy!" exclaimed Trace. "I didn't get on this team for nothing! Eagle Replica Strike!"

Eagle suddenly multiplied extremely quickly and there were over 50 copies of it in the arena now.

"I can't tell which is real!" panicked Simon.

"Too bad," grinned Trace. "Eagle! Barrage Attack!"

The clones of Eagle shot forward and smashed into Gryphos inflicting several serious blows to the bey and making it impossible to tell which was the real one either.

"Looks like I'll have to take every clone out then!" growled Simon. "Gryphos! Burst Blast!"

Gryphos exploded into flames again before charging at all of the clones and smashing through them. It continued around the arena until there was only one Eagle left.

"I have you now!" cried Simon in triumph.

"I wouldn't bet on it!" replied Trace. "Look at your bey!"

Simon glanced down at his bey and gasped. After it had finished its clone extermination and the flames cleared, his bey had moved to the center of the stadium. And right now, it was wobbling dangerously.

"Oh no!" panicked Simon. "I used to much power getting rid of those replicas!"

"And now it's my turn to strike!" cheered Trace. "Eagle! Fearful Feathers!"

A brown eagle with red eyes emerged from its bey and screeched before flying over to Gryphos and striking it with its wings.

Simon cried out as Gryphos was slashed and was sent flying to the other side of the arena.

"Keep going Eagle!" commanded Trace as Eagle then flapped its wings and an assortment of feathers shot towards Gryphos like bullets and slashed it so hard that it was sent flying into the air.

"Now!" exclaimed Simon. Gryphos! Special Move! Wingtip Scorcher!"

Gryphos engulfed itself in flames before soaring downwards towards Eagle.

"This will finish it!" roared Simon. "Go Gryphos!"

"I still have one trick up my sleeve!" retorted Trace. "Eagle! Special Move! Tornado Dance!"

The wind around Eagle picked up and suddenly, a tornado shot up from the stadium and intercepted Gryphos' move, trapping it within the strong wind currents.

"Now finish it Eagle!" roared Trace as he pointed up towards the sky. The red-eyed eagle appeared once again and flew up through the tornado and confronted a dragon griffin hybrid.

Simon threw his hand out and cried, "Take them down Gryphos!"

As the two bit beasts clashed, Eagles soared up through the tornado to confront Gryphos.

"Goooooooooooooooooooooo!" exclaimed the two bladers on union as their beys clashed. Sparks flew and the crowd were on the edge of their seats. But Simon had one last move.

"Special move!" Simon's voice rang out through the stadium. "Skydiving Blaze Strike!"

Gryphos set itself on fire once more and pushed Eagle downwards, its flames extinguishing the tornado. There was a mighty crash and Eagle was flung out of the arena while Gryphos remained but wobbling greatly.

"Oh right!" cheered Max. "Score 1 for Team Nova Flare!"

"Looks like I win Trace!" declared Simon as Trace picked up his bey.

"Yep," replied Trace. "But it's far from over. Now Des!"

"Let It Rip!" roared Des as she quickly stepped to the plate and launched her bey.

Simon didn't have any time to react as Des' bey shot forward and knocked his out of the arena in one clean blow.

"Holy crap!" commented Blaze in shock. "Simon just got sneak attacked in one shot!"

"Sorry Simon," apologized Des. "But Spirit Burst is going all the way to the top."

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" replied Kiara as she stepped forward and prepared her bey.

"Bring it!" challenged Des.

"Let It Rip!" roared Kiara as her bey shot out into the stadium. As she did, she examined Des' bey.

Tune Virgo was an attack type bey. It was mainly red in colour and had sharp edges. The face depicted a girl with long hair and its spin track was white and had four claws.

"Let's go Solaria!" cried Kiara as her bey shot towards Virgo and smashed into it, sending it back.

"Not bad," complemented Des. "But now it's my turn! Virgo!"

Virgo shot forward and smashed into Solaria, knocking it back. Solaria attempted to return the favor with an attack, but Virgo held steady and sparks flied.

"This is getting us nowhere fast," commented Kiara. "So I'm going to speed things up! Solaria!"

Solaria backed away from Virgo before moving into a new phase of attack.

"Special Move!" exclaimed Kiara. "Solaria Queen Lioness Rising Sundance!"

Solaria closed in on Virgo, but instead of attacking it, it spun around the bey and created a blinding flash of light.

"What!" cried Des as she covered her eyes to protect them from the blinding light. The crowd did the same and because of this no one realized that Solaria was inflicting damaging blows upon Virgo.

"Nice trick," commented Des. "Now watch mine!"

Virgo managed to escape from Solaria's onslaught and rushed to the edge of the arena.

"Wanna play tag huh?" smirked Kiara. "Well then! I'm it! Here I come!"

Solaria shot forward towards Virgo, which made no attempt to move out of the way of the attack.

"I have you now!" declared Kiara as her bey neared Virgo, but Des had other ideas.

"Special Move!" interrupted Des. "Musical Trap!"

A sweet sounding music began to ring out from Virgo before Solaria suddenly stopped moving.

"Say what!" cried Kiara.

"That was the power of Virgo's Musical Trap," explained Des. "It freezes your bey in its tracks."

"That means she's wide open for an attack from Virgo," commented Max.

"Not good," added Blaze.

"Strike Virgo!" commanded Des and her bey obeyed as it struck a hard blow on Solaria.

"Now keep attacking!" cheered Des and her bey complied, landing a couple more blows on Solaria.

"Now you're making me mad," warned Kiara. "Come on Solaria!"

After taking yet another attack from Virgo, Solaria managed to break Virgo's control over it and moved to attack Virgo, knocking it back.

"And with that," stated Simon. "She's back in the game."

"Time for plan B!" cried Des. "Special Move! Storming Assault!"

Virgo spun the middle of the arena before a fog spread from the bey and covered the entire arena. It was impossible to see Virgo in the deep fog.

"Are you kidding me?" cursed Kiara in annoyance.

"Strike now Virgo!" ordered Des as her bey sprinted out of the fog and sent a powerful attack on Solaria.

Kiara commanded her bey to counterattack, but Virgo disappeared back into the fog.

"She's going to use the fog as cover for her attack," explained Blaze. "And that's not good news for Kiara."

Kiara growled in frustration as she saw what Des was doing.

"Well you know what they say," said Kiara. "When you can't see in the dark, you light a torch! Solaria! Firestorm Fury!"

Solaria powered up and created a wave of fire that wiped out the fog and was heading for the now vulnerable and exposed Virgo.

"Run Virgo!" ordered Des as her bey spun to the edge of the arena.

"You can run!" cried Kiara. "But you can't hide!"

The wave of fire followed Virgo to the edge of the arena and smashed into it, knocking it out of the arena.

"Too bad!" declared Kiara. "I win!"

"Thanks for the boost!" retorted Des.

"Huh?" Kiara looked up to see Virgo shooting down towards her.

"Not so fast!" interrupted Kiara. "Flame Barrier!"

A barrier of red light appeared around Solaria, protecting her from Virgo's assault from above.

"Looks like its time for plan C!" commented Des as she commanded her bey to retreat.

"Bring it!" cried Kiara. "I can take anything you can throw!"

"Let's test that theory!" answered Des. "Virgo! Special Move! Thorny Pass!"

A female with long brown hair rose from her bey. She then smiled before her haired began to flow out and thorns shot from it towards Solaria.

Kiara cried out as the thorns smashed into her bey and sent it spinning out of control.

"Des is going for one final assault!" stated Simon. "Not good!"

"Again Virgo!" ordered Des as her bey beats sent more thorns towards Solaria.

"Not so fast!" retorted Kiara. "Solaria! Firelight Wall!"

A wall of fire appeared, protecting Solaria and deflecting the thorns back at Virgo.

"You think you can beat me with a redirected attack?" laughed Des. "I don't think so!"

The Woman sent more thorns flying to intercept the redirected ones, canceling out the attack.

"Looks like it's time to end this!" declared Kiara.

"You got it!" responded Des.

"Goooooooooooooooooooooo!" roared both bladers as their beys prepared their final assault.

"Solaria!" exclaimed Kiara. "Firestorm Fury!"

"Virgo!" exclaimed Des. "Thorny Pass!"

As a wave of fire shot towards Virgo, a wave of thorns sped towards Solaria. In the midst of this, the Lioness clashed with the Woman until the attacks canceled each other out and created a huge explosion.

The crowd gasped as they waited for the smoke to clear and to see who had survived. There was the sound of metal clanging on ground and everyone was shocked as they saw that both Solaria and Virgo had been knocked out of the arena.

"A tie," gasped Max.

"You did good," complemented Kiara as she picked up her bey.

"You did good too," answered Des with a smile.

"So it all comes down to us," said Max as he stepped up to the arena while Sierra did the same.

"We both knew this was bound to happen," stated Sierra.

"I know," smirked Max. "Now time to see who truly is Number 1!"

"Bring it on Max!" roared Sierra as she readied her bey.

"You got it!" answered Max as he readied his bey.

"Three!" cried Sierra.

"Two!" added the crowd.

"One!" called out Max.

"Let It Rip!"

Max and Sierra roared fiercely as the ripped, and their beys sprung from their respective launchers and spun into the field where they immediately clashed.

"Don't think I'll go easy on you this time!" declared Sierra. "This time I'm going to win!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" replied Max as the two beys clashed proudly.

"Strike Thunder Angel!" commanded Sierra as her bey backed away from Swordsman and moved onto the offensive. It spun forward and struck Swordsman with a mighty force, knocking it back.

"Charge Swordsman!" ordered Max as his bey shot forward and collided with Angel. But the opposing bey was just too strong and shrugged the attack off before sending its opponent plummeting back.

"Did you not learn anything from our last battle?" asked Sierra. "Angel is much too strong for Swordsman to fight in a head to head battle.

"Alright then!" cried Max. "Looks like I'll have to fight back with raw power! Special Move! Flame Sword Slash!"

The Red Knight burst from the red bey and held its sword high as it engulfed itself in flames.

"Heat this up Swordsman!" called out Max as the Red Knight swung its sword at Angel, inflicting a powerful blow that knocked it back.

"You can't beat me like that!" retorted Sierra. "Attack Angel!"

Angel quickly recovered from the attack and shot forward, smashing into Swordsman. At the same time, a female with curly blue hair and wearing a long flowing blue gown appeared. She also wielded a scepter with a blue ball on the end of it.

Facing off, the Red Knight swung its blade at the Woman, who blocked it with her scepter and threw the Knight back. At the same time, Angle managed to survive Swordsman's special move and knocked the opposing bey back.

Max's mouth fell open in shock. "You actually repelled my special move with a normal attack?"

"You're facing the full power of Thunder Angel!" declared Sierra. "And this time your going down!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" cried Max. "If I can't beat you with that then I'll try something else!"

"Not that it'll help!" answered Sierra.

"Swordsman!" commanded Max. "Heat things up will ya!"

Swordsman began to spin around the edge of the arena and built up power. Swordsman also set itself on fire to power itself even more.

"Now go!" roared Max. "Special Move! Phoenix Fury!"

The Red Knight appeared once again and held its flaming sword up. The Flaming Phoenix burst from the blade and flew into the sky before screeching.

"Now attack!" exclaimed Max as the Phoenix charged downwards towards Angel.

"Special Move!" interrupted Sierra. "Wings of Terror!"

As she said this, the Woman appeared once more and sprouted wings from her back. She then flapped them, sending an array of sharp feathers flying towards the Phoenix.

Max had no time to react as the feathers pierced the Phoenix and broke it apart.

"Did she really just avoid my attack again?" questioned Max.

"And now I'm going onto the offensive!" cried Sierra. "Angel! Lightning Assault!"

Lightning rained down from the roof and began striking the arena.

"This isn't so bad," commented Max. "I can take this!"

"Except the fact that this time the lightning strike really hurts!" retorted Sierra.

"Say what!"

Max cried out as the lightning leapt down into the arena and began striking the ground. The lightning was creating huge cracks in the arena and Swordsman was struggling to dodge the strikes and not get caught in the cracks.

"Not good!" cursed Max.

"You can't run forever!" stated Sierra as the lightning landed on Swordsman, zapping it and sending it flying into he other side of the arena with burn marks all over it.

"Swordsman!" cried out Max in horror.

"The lightning actually electrocuted Swordsman," gasped Simon.

"You want to play that way huh?" growled Max, agitated.

"Bring it," challenged Sierra.

"Special Move!" exclaimed Max. "Flame Spiral!"

The Red Knight emerged once again and pointed its sword at Angel. Next, a stream of spiraling fire shot from the blade and smashed into Angel, managing to throw it back in the process.

"That's nothing," scoffed Sierra. "Because now I'm…"

"Salamander Fury!" interrupted Max and a salamander composed of fire burst from Swordsman's blade and screeched.

"Try this on for size!" cried Max as Salamander launched forward and breathed fire on Angel.

"You really want tot play like this?" asked Sierra enraged.

"You bet!" responded Max. "Again Salamander!"

The Salamander roared before turning itself into a wave of fire that incinerated Angel and enraged Sierra even more.

"Now your making me mad!" Sierra growled. "Hit him hard Angel!"

Angel charged forward and plowed through the flames surrounding Swordsman before clashing with it. Swordsman tired its best to hold its own against Angel, but the opposing bey was just too strong. Using it brute strength, it slowly pushed Swordsman back near the edge of the arena.

"Swordsman!" panicked Max.

"Eat this!" cried Sierra. "Finish him Angel!"

The Woman wielding the scepter appeared from her bey while the Red Knight did the same from his and confronted her. She pointed her staff and a lightning bolt shot from it, but the Knight evaded it and went to slash at her. She held up her scepter and it blocked the strike but the Knight quickly pulled his blade back before plunging it into the Woman's chest, causing her to vanish.

Sierra cried out as Swordsman knocked Angel back and her bey beast was defeated.

"Let's end this now!" challenged Max. "We both know we want to end this!"

"Let's see who Number 1 is," replied Sierra with a nod.

"Run Swordsman!" commanded Max as his bey circled the arena and built up power.

"Power up Angel!" added Sierra as her bey did the same.

"Special Move!" yelled the two bladers in union.

"Thunder Attack!" exclaimed Sierra as her bey beast reappeared and drew her staff, creating a giant lightning bolt that shot down towards Swordsman.

Max held up his hand and his Order crest glowed bright. "Fusion Power! Chimera Fury!"

The flaming salamander and phoenix reappeared before combining into a flaming Chimera who gave a fierce roar. Then it shot up into the sky and took the lightning head on.

"Goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" shouted the two bladers as their moves clashed.

Eventually, the fire overpowered the lightning bolt and absorbed it before the Chimera came crashing down onto Angel, smashing it out of the arena with a bang!

Sierra gasped as her bey came to a stop at her feet.

"And the winner is Max Smith and Team Nova Flare!" announced Jones, the crowd burst in applause.

"Great match Sierra," said Max as he recalled his bey with a smile.

"Don't get the wrong idea," replied Sierra as she picked up her bey. "I'll win next time."

Max smiled as Sierra went to join her team.

"You did it Max!" cheered Simon as he ran up to his teammate and high-fived him.

"Okay," added Blaze. "I gotta say, you did good."

"That means we move onto he semifinals now," explained Kiara.

"But against who?" inquired Max.

"Well that's a wrap for the qualifying round!" announced Jones. "Now it's time to see who faces who in the semifinals!"

Everyone's attention was diverted to the giant screen and watched as it flashed images of the four remaining teams.

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued in "The Fear Factor." <strong>

**I know, cliffhanger. Thought I'd try it though just for fun. Anyway, I'm not going to spoil too much for the next chapter but I can tell you one of the people battling in the next chapter! This person will be Luke. That's right, Team King Destructors are up first in the semifinals against (insert opposing team name here). I'm not telling, and I actually haven't decided yet. I'm 90% sure of which team I want to face them but I'm still debating. This means the next chapter might take a bit longer to post but I hope it won't. I hope this chapter satisfied you, and SwiftTheWritingMagician, I will try and use some of the things you suggested a bit more as soon as possible. **

**Also, I was thinking about changing the name of the series to another title rather then Beyblade Legends Academy. You know, something more fitting to the beyblade world. I thought about Metal Heroes, sort of because it associated more closely then with Metal Fusion, Masters, Fury and Shogun Steel. **

**So, tell me which title you think I should go with when you review, either Beyblade Legends Academy or Beyblade Metal Heroes. Yes, ****PLEASE REVIEW! BECAUSE I LOVE IT WHEN YOU REVIEW! **

**Cheers, siderisn. **


	28. Chapter 28: The Fear Factor

**That took longer then I thought it would, but I was updating some other stories and sort of lost my plan on how I wanted this chapter to go. I took me a while, but I eventually remembered and tweaked it a little. Oh yeah, I've changed the name of the story to Beyblade: Metal Heroes since the votes were with that one. Some of you also sent in alternative names, and I admit they were creative but not what I was really looking for. I still thought about them though and give thanks for that. **

* * *

><p><strong>Now for review responses: <strong>

**Nightmare Princess of Darkness: Glad you liked the chapter and I'm also glad that your excited about this story. Sorry about the wait for this chapter, I'll try to update sooner next time. **

**GoldenAngel999: Thank god all three battles didn't turn into a three-way disaster. I thought three battles might clog up the chapter but it didn't. Phew. I'm vey glad to know that you liked all three battles and that it didn't turn into a blunder. **

**AKA99: "Epic!" Glad to know you thought of it that way! Yeah, there was no way I was going to throw in any dirty tricks in this battle, simply because I wanted it to be a fair hardcore battle. Now, you thought for a title "Beyblade Metal Academy," which isn't too bad but I've seen many stories with this name and it wouldn't really differentiate from the original title enough. Still a good thought though. **

**SwiftTheWritingMagician: Yes, the students are fighting back, but the problem is that the Mysterious Figure isn't letting them. He needs them for his creepy and malevolent "ritual." So not everyone is going to come out of this the same… or if they come out at all… **

**MarsTwilight: You like the storyline huh, that's a relief. I feared that the storyline would go a bit off track at one stage but not such problem so far. **

**Alpha Dragonis: It was a great chapter for when you came back. Oh, and you suggested the name "Beyblade Heroes Academy". This wasn't bad, but I feel that it doesn't really differ from the previous title and doesn't stand out as much as I would like. It was still a good idea though! **

**Now, onto the chapter, oh and I've changed the symbols of the crests since their pretty boring. The Order Crest is now an omega symbol while the Chaos Crest is a triquetra. I'l aslo be changing the image for this story soon as well. Remember, PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! BECAUSE I ONLY NEED 8 MORE TO GET TO 200!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 28: The Fear Factor <strong>

Everyone's attention was diverted to the giant screen and watched as it flashed images of the four remaining teams. The screen suddenly stopped and the match ups were decided.

"The first match of the quarter finals is between Team Nova Flare and Team King Destructors!" announced Mr. Jones. "While the second will be between Team Atlas and Team Crimson! Rest up bladers because these upcoming matches will be the hardest you've ever been in!"

Max looked around the arena and spotted Team King Destructors, minus Artemis sitting across for them on the other side of the stadium. Max frowned when he saw Jaden pretending to slit her throat. He knew Jaden was out to get him, and the rest of Team Nova Flare.

Max turned his gaze to Team Crimson, minus Unmei, sitting near the bottom of the stadium. Both had unemotional expressions on their faces.

Max's trance was broken by Simon's voice. "Let's go Max."

"Right," Max nodded as he got up and went to walk away. He kept his eyes on Team Crimson and saw two malicious smirks appeared on their faces. Max shivered.

* * *

><p>"You sought our presence Lord Zygor," Athena said as she and Hermes entered the room and bowed.<p>

"Yes." The Dark Figure turned in his chair to face his disciples. He wore a black suit and black gloves in which his crest would glow through when in use. Underneath his suit was a white button up shirt with a deep red tie. A dark purple cloak with a golden chain was strapped around his shoulders. The cloak also had a hood, which was propped up around Lord Zygor's face. His face had even more disguise, as he bared a black mask with white-eye holes. The mask even came down and covered his mouth.

**(A/N): I've given the Dark Figure a name because I'm sick of writing "Dark Figure" over and over again. Lord Zygor isn't his real name though. **

Zygor looked down at Athena and Hermes. "I need you to bring in Luke."

"Luke?" questioned Hermes puzzled.

"You question my orders?" scowled Zygor.

"No," choked Hermes. "Of course not."

"We were just curious," defended Athena.

Zygor starred at his disciples before speaking again. "I need to test the power of chaos on an average human. Luke is going to be my guinea pig."

"If I may ask?" interrupted Hermes yet again. "What do you wish to accomplish by doing this?"

Zygor chuckled. "As you already know, gaining a crest of Chaos or Order takes special training in order to sustain it as you both have done. Otherwise, you must have abnormal power, which automatically sustains the crest's powers. Once the Dark Lord is awakened and the Purge is complete, there won't be any time to train others to join our forces and master the power of the crest. Therefore, we need an alternative way of giving mere people crests without anything else. Luke will be our test on that."

"Aren't there possible risks?" asked Athena.

"Of course there are," answered Zygor. "That's exactly why were testing this on someone we can easily dispose of and isn't needed. His next battle will be soon; therefore it is extra important that we try this now to see how long he can control it for. Or if he can control it at all."

"As you wish Lord Zygor," answered Hermes and Athena simultaneously. They stood up and exited the room. At the same time, Zygor removed his mask and reached for his glass of wine. He sipped it before looking at the chessboard set up at his table.

**"****Hello Zygor,"** chuckled a malicious voice as the black shadow appeared in the room.

"My Master." Zygor bowed his head in respect.

**"****Are the pieces coming together?" **

"Of course," replied Zygor as he took another sip of his wine.

**"****And the boy?"**

"Has been dealt with," finished Zygor. "We have planted the seed of destruction in his power. He is no threat."

**"****What about the experiment?"**

"About to begin," explained Zygor as he moved a black castle on the chessboard. "But the test of the powers of the kids we have subjected to the darkness will begin now with the semifinals."

**"****Yes, Those puny kids are all just sacrifices for me. Keep up the good work Zigor. The time of my resurrection is nearing…" **

The shadow vanished from the room and Zygor put his mask back on. He then moved one of his pawn pieces over to a white pawn and chuckled. "The countdown to checkmate has begun, Prince of Fire."

* * *

><p>Max took a seat next to Tyler's bed. He was sleeping at the moment along with the other students that had been struck by a dark move. As with Frieda, the black dots had begun to spread through their bodies. Frieda was the worse because her skin was covered in them.<p>

Simon had walked over to the main desk where he was typing away on the computer's keyboard to analysis the patient's health at this point. Blaze and Kiara has taken a seat at Aiya's bed. The room was silent. Things were getting tense. And the semifinals meant that the chances of someone else getting attacked were high.

Max broke the silence. "This tournament is getting riskier with each battle."

Simon sighed as he turned away from the computer and leaned on the desk. "Doesn't help that two of the teams are power crazed."

"Team King Destructors are up against us," commented Blaze. "We should beat them."

"It's not us I'm worried about." Max bit his lip. "I'm worried about Team Atlas. They're going up against Team Crimson and I don't like the way their powers are developing. So far, no one has stood even a chance against them, which is why I'm not to sure Team Atlas can handle them."

"One problem at a time," interrupted Kiara. "We need to make sure King Destructors doesn't get the drop on us. Especially Artemis, she's the biggest threat here with her dark power and all."

"But Luke and Jaden are tough as well," Max added. "And they don't go down easy. They may have no honor but they have ruthlessness, which can sometimes be a dangerous weapon."

"If we have to face Artemis I think Max would be the best choice," pointed out Simon. "He does have that mystical order crest and it appears to give majestic powers as such. His own powers should allow him a fair fight with Artemis."

Max gazed down at the omega symbol carved into his hand. Even thought he wasn't using its power, he was sure he could feel the strange and mystical energy pulsing through his veins at that very moment. If felt more like a curse then a gift.

"But what about Team Atlas," answered Max, still concerned. "Their battle is coming up soon and I'm questioning their safety here. For all we know they could end up like everyone else in these beds."

The room fell silent. Kiara stood up and walked over to Max. She placed her hand on his shoulder. "They're going to be okay Max. We'll get through this together as a team. Am I right?"

Kiara turned to face Simon and Blaze. They both smiled. "Right."

"So come on Max," encouraged Kiara. "Don't let this get your spirit down. Because we're going to win this thing."

Max looked up to his teammates. "Let's do this."

* * *

><p>"We have brought him Lord Zygor," said Hermes as he and Athena entered the arena with Luke slightly behind them.<p>

"Good." Zygor turned to face them and Hermes and Athena bowed before hitting Luke so he would do it as well.

"Luke," chuckled Zygor. "My dear boy. How have you been?"

Luke snorted. "Fine."

"Good," answered Zygor. "Excellent in fact. You see, because I value you as one of my best pupils, I'm promoting you."

Luke actually started paying attention and Hermes and Athena had to stop themselves from giggling. Even though Zygor was wearing his mask, the twin disciples could feel him giving them a death stare.

"Promotion?" questioned Luke.

"Yes." If Zygor weren't wearing a mask he would be shown smirking. He signaled for Luke to stand before putting his arm around him and bringing him over to his desk. "You see, with us, our status is shown by having one of these."

Zygor held out his hand and a purple chaos triquetra crest glowed from underneath his glove. Luke starred into it and became hypnotized by its power.

"Do you see it?" asked Zygor. "Do you see the power of chaos?"

"I see it," gasped Luke as he continued to be hypnotized by the crest's power.

"You could have this power as well," Zygor claimed as his crest's power faded. Luke immediately came back to his senses.

"What do I have to do?" asked Luke. "Because I want that power."

"What would you do with it?" asked Zygor.

"I would use it to crush those who would stand in your way!" Luke declared.

"Good," chuckled Zygor. "Very good. All you need to do is hold out your hand."

"Like this?" said Luke as he held out his arm.

"Perfect." Zygor quickly stretched out his hand and took hold of Luke's wrist. His crest began to glow again and the room's walls and roof suddenly vanished along with Athena and Hermes. Luke gasped as the floor changed to a black stone one with a triquetra crest lying in the center of it glowing. Their surroundings were then transformed into a purple and black energy like void. Luke was speechless.

"O' will of chaos hear my plead!" chanted Zygor. "Grant my disciple the power, that he would need! In brightest day, in blackest night, dark magic of chaos unleash your might!"

The triquetra underneath them reacted to Zygor's chant and glowed brighter. Suddenly, the dark purple energy flowed from Zygor's crest and around them before falling into the symbol on the floor. The wind around them picked up as golden energy then flowed from the symbol and began to burn itself into Luke's hand.

"Ahhhh!" screamed Luke in pain as the energy forced itself into his hand.

"Hush now," Zygor's voice grew grim. "Do you not want the power?"

"I do!" winced Luke as the energy continued to do its work.

"Then let the ritual do what it must!" barked Zygor.

"STOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!" screamed Luke in terror until the energy stopped flowing. The surroundings changed back to the way they were before and Zygor let go of Luke's hand.

Clutching his burning hand, Luke fell to his knees. He was in tears at this point in time.

"Get up!" spat Zygor as he walked back to his chair and sat down. "The next match for your team begins tomorrow."

Luke slowly looked at his hand and saw a golden glowing triquetra on it. He looked at it maleficently before standing up and giving a twisted grin. He held his hand up and his crest glowed brighter. "Those scum have no idea what they've gotten into."

Luke's eyes glowed gold and he surrounded himself with golden aura and began laughing devilishly to himself.

* * *

><p>Max swore as he made his way down a hall. He was lost. Lost in the school. He was never going to hear the end of this from Blaze.<p>

"I knew I should have downloaded that GPS app onto my phone," he cursed. "If only Mum warned me that I had no good sense of direction."

Max stopped when he realized the hall he was walking in wasn't a school one. The wales were made of white stone while the floor was composed of black marble. Torches lined the walls and illuminated the hall.

"I could have sworn I was just in a school hall," commented Max as he turned around to see the way he had came. The hall seemed to go on forever however.

He looked forward again and noticed his crest glowing. "Must be another vision."

He walked down the hall a bit further until he came to a wooden door. It was open partly and he could hear someone crying lightly.

He reached for the handle when he noticed a sign on the door. It wasn't written in his language and it didn't look familiar.

"Maybe I shouldn't go in," said Max to himself as he brought his hand back. "For all I know this sign says danger of enter and die."

His crest began to glow brighter and the words on the door glowed red before rearranging and changing shape. They now read 'Princess Eninl.'

"Princess," muttered Max as he reached for the handle again and pushed the door open slightly. He poked his head in and quickly realized that he was in a glorious chamber. The walls were white and the floor black like the hall. But the room had a golden coloured roof. At the far end of the room was a big bed with purple and red pillows and sheets. On the next wall was a large wooden closet while the opposite wall had a large mirror. The final wall had a desk area with books and maps. Lying on the bed wearing purple and golden robes was a girl crying. She was about Max's age and was upset about something.

"Where have I seen her before?" asked Max to himself when someone suddenly walked through him. This was a tall thin man wearing silver armour with a red cape. He had a sword strapped to his waist and held a silver helmet in his hand. The man himself had short yellow hair and matching yellow eyes.

"What is wrong Princess Eninl?" asked the Knight as he placed his helmet down on a wooden desk. "What troubles you?"

The Princess looked up and revealed her face, shocking Max.

Numerous things were racing through Max's mind. 'That's the girl that looked just like Ninel when I had a previous vision.'

"But what is happening exactly?" Max was ready to get a headache from all this weird stuff happening but decided to pay attention to this vision and perhaps figure out why the Princess Eninl looked like Ninel so much.

"Oh Manchester," sobbed the Princess. "I just can't take it anymore. With my Brother going day after into the war and leading the army, it's only a matter of time until he falls. I couldn't bare to lose my brother."

The Princess then buried her face into the pillows and began to cry again.

"Brother?" muttered Max. He felt like he was in a history lesson.

The Knight, Manchester stepped forward and sat on the bed next to Eninl. He placed a hand around her and brought her to his chest.

"Don't you worry about your brother," said Manchester in a soothing voice. "You know he has to do this. For the sake of our kingdom. Don't forget that his trustful army would fall, before he himself did. We would proudly give our lives so he could live."

Princess Eninl looked up at Manchester, tears still in her eyes. Manchester wiped them away for her and she smiled.

"Thank you Manchester," she said. "You've always been my best friend." She then wrapped her arms around the Knight and they hugged.

"Aw," commented Max, nearly in tears himself. "But why the heck am I seeing this. I feel like I've been sent back to the middle ages or something."

The crest on his hand began to glow, and the floor underneath Max broke away and he fell into the dark abyss, screaming.

* * *

><p>"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Max continued to scream even when he woke up and fell out of bed, knocking some sense into him. His alarm clock was beeping in the background.<p>

Max sighed on the floor. "That's the longest vision I've had so far. But what the heck does that even mean?"

Max stood up and walked over to his closet. As he began changing he was going over the vision in his mind. 'Why did that Princess Eninl look so much like Ninel? It's almost like their twins or something. Creepy.'

Max made his way over to his bedside table and picked up Flame Swordsman. "Ready to go buddy?"

A ray of light shined in through the window reflecting off the bey, making it shimmer.

"Atta boy," cheered Max.

* * *

><p>As Team Nova Flare made their way down to the stadium for their match against King Destructors, Max explained to his teammates his latest vision.<p>

"She looks exactly like Ninel?" Simon asked yet again.

"Yep," confirmed Max. "A dead ringer."

"And she was a princess?" questioned Kiara.

"Yep," answered Max. "The Knight called her that and the sign said that as well."

"And her brother lead an army and was basically the King?" added Blaze.

"Yep," replied Max. "It sounds crazy but it was like a memory of some sort. What I can't understand is why I'm having them. For some reason I think it has something to do with the voice I'm hearing and my crest."

"We'll have to figure it out later," interrupted Simon as they made their way into the stadium. "And possibly discover some connection to all this dark stuff happening."

The team made their way into the main part of the stadium, as did Team King Destructors on the opposite side. Jaden and Luke were in front, followed closely by Artemis whose hair hung over his face.

"All right bladers!" announced Mr. Jones. "Time for the semifinals to begin! Unlike previous battles, teams will determine who they wish to put out first and the other team will respond with their own blader! First to pick a blader will be Team Nova Flare!"

The bladers huddled up and began to talk.

"Who goes first?" asked Max. "I'll be the one taking on Artemis."

"Jaden's mine," commented Kiara.

Simon and Blaze looked at each other.

"You sat out last time," said Simon. "So I'll let you go in."

"Thanks," replied Blaze as they broke the huddle and Blaze went over to the bey arena.

"So Blaze is up first for Nova Flare!" announced Jones. "Who will face her for King Destructors?"

King Destructors didn't even talk about it. Luke simply stepped up with a sinister smirk plastered across his face.

"Looks like it'll be Blaze Markura VS Luke Portadonnez!" cried Jones.

"No!" interrupted Luke.

"Huh?" questioned Jones.

"I wish to fight two of them!" claimed Luke. "So I can crush them so much quicker."

Jones paused for a moment. "Okay. Will another blader from Nova Flare step up to face Luke in a tag team with Blaze."

"Looks like we're in this together," said Simon as he walked next to Blaze at the arena.

Blaze sighed. "Fine. This shouldn't take too long now that it's two against one."

"Prepare to watch as your worst fears come to life before your eyes," scowled Luke, as his right eye seemed to go weird and glowed yellow. "Because unlike with a nightmare, you never wake up and you will scream until you can't scream anymore!"

Simon and Blaze took a step back as the felt a queasy feeling. At the same time, Max felt a strange vibe coming from Luke.

"Be carefully you two!" called out Max to his teammates. Simon turned around and gave him a thumbs up in response.

"Prepare your beys!" announced Jones.

Simon and Blaze attached their beys while Luke did the same with his. Luke's eyes were glaring evilly at Simon and Blaze without blinking as he did so.

"Three!" cried Simon.

"Two!" added Blaze.

"One!" barked Luke.

"Let It Rip!"

Gryphos, Phoenix and Jupiter shot from their respective bladers launchers and smashed into each other before falling into the arena and began spinning.

"Let's do this Blaze!" shouted Simon as he and Blaze's bey stayed in close formation while Jupiter simply stayed in the center.

"Got it!" responded Blaze.

"Go play your childish games!" spat Luke.

"I don't see you doing much!" barked Blaze in response.

"Oh you'll see!" snorted Luke.

"Let's hit him now while he's playing around!" suggested Simon.

"I read you loud and clear!" Blaze cried as she pointed at Jupiter. "Get 'em Phoenix!"

Phoenix shot forward and circled Jupiter before smacking into it and landing a heavy blow. Luke made no move to strike back however.

Blaze looked at Simon and he shrugged. "If he's not going to attack or defend, then it's his problem! Go Gryphos!"

Gryphos sped forward and landed a couple of blows on Jupiter before backing away. Still Luke refused to make a move.

"Hello!" called out Blaze to Luke. "Anyone home! You're in a bey battle! If we're going to crush you can we at least make sure you know you're getting crushed?"

Luke's hand twitched creepily. He looked up with a crook grin on his face. He stretched out his arm and chuckled. "It's time!"

"Time for what?" asked Simon.

"CHAOS!" roared Luke as he held his hand up and his golden chaos crest glowed.

"A crest of chaos!" gasped Max.

"O' will of chaos hear my plead!" chanted Luke. "Grant me the power, that I would need! In brightest day, in blackest night, dark power of chaos unleash your might!"

The arena glowed and a golden chaos crest appeared on it.

"What the heck?" cursed Blaze.

"This is just like when I fought Hermes and Athena!" gasped Max.

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><p><em>Suddenly, two triquetra symbols appeared on the wall, one pink, and one blue. Max watched as the symbols got brighter, and brighter, until they swallowed him up. <em>

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><p><em>"<em>_Who are you people?" asked Max. "Where am I? How did I get here?"_

_"__Don't be rude Max," replied Athena. "After all, we have invited you here."_

_"__I don't remember getting an invitation," spat Max coldly. _

_"__It was compulsory," snickered Hermes. "So you didn't t get a choice in the matter."_

_"__Well I'm here," said Max. "And I want to leave now. So, how do I get out of here?"_

_"__You can't just leave," replied Athena. "It doesn't work that way."_

_"__You have to defeat us," finished Hermes. _

_"__Oh terrific," cursed Max. _

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><p><em>"<em>_If you lose this match!" added Hermes as he attached a blue bey to his launcher. "We get your soul! Along with all your beys power and your own!" _

_"__This sounds an awful lot like Yu-Gi-Oh," joked Max. "So, if I lose you take my soul. And then do you banish my mind to the shadow realm or to the netherworld?"_

_"__Oh this is no joke," spat Athena. "You will lose your soul. And unlike how they do it in the cartoons, it is a very slow and extremely painful process." _

_"__And we will enjoin every second of it," hissed Hermes. _

_"__Then I won't lose!" replied Max. "Let's do this!"_

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><p>"You have to stop this match!" interrupted Max as he ran towards the arena.<p>

"Wrong Smith!" barked Luke as a golden sphere appeared around the arena blocking Max.

"What the heck?" cursed Max.

"Once a battle like this begins!" explained Luke. "It can only end with someone winning and someone losing!"

"Say what," commented Simon confused.

"And then I get your souls and your beys power!" laughed Luke.

"No!" roared Max as be punched the golden dome, which shocked him and sent him flying back.

"Max!" cried Kiara as she rushed to her teammate's aid.

"Not everyone get's out of this alive!" mocked Luke wickedly.

"So we won't lose then!" declared Blaze.

Luke snorted. "I highly doubt that!"

Simon rebuffed, "What makes you so sure?"

Luke smirks malevolently. "Because I have the dark power of chaos at my side! What do you have! Jack! Zilch! Squat! You have nothing to beat me with!"

Kiara angrily cries, "You monster!"

Max straight after, adds, "Let them go!"

"What?" questioned Blaze.

"Your quarrel is with me!" Max pointed at himself. "Leave them out of this!"

"Oh please," hissed Luke. "Why should I? What better way to get my revenge then by torturing your precious friends!"

"What kid of creep is this?" asked Simon.

"One that's going to win!" shot back Luke.

"You bastard!" cursed Max.

"Oh I'm so scared!" Luke spat sarcastically. "What are you going to do when you can't even pass my chaos dome?" Luke gestured at the translucent golden dome surrounding the arena.

Max growled. "I'll find a way in!"

Luke just laughed. "I'd like to see you try! Oh wait, I already did! And you landed on your ass!"

"It's okay Max," interrupted Simon. "We can beat him."

"But he has a chaos crest," warned Max. "I don't known if you can beat him with that kind of power on his side."

"You give us too little credit," said Blaze. "We've got this, no worries."

"Trust us to win," suggested Simon.

"Okay." Max smiled. "Now whip his ass!"

"Let the first round of terror begin!" spat Luke. "Jupiter!"

Jupiter moved away from its position in the middle of the stadium and began to circle the outside. It glowed gold as it built up power.

"Don't even think about it!" interrupted Simon. "Gryphos! Burst Blast!"

Gryphos was suddenly alight with flames and sped towards Jupiter and crashed into it. The opposing bey however, appeared unaffected by the attack.

Luke snickered. "Strike back Jupiter!"

Jupiter shot forward towards Gryphos and landed a hard blow, throwing it back.

"What?" cursed Simon.

"Let me at him!" interrupted Blaze. "Attack Phoenix!"

Phoenix shot forward and clashed with Jupiter, who easily fought off the bey and knocked it back.

Blaze growled while Luke chuckled.

"Again Gryphos!" called out Simon. "Burst Blast!"

Gryphos set itself ablaze once again before charging towards Jupiter.

"Special move!" interrupted Luke. "Jupiter's Shield!"

A blue mist suddenly appeared from Jupiter, hiding it from view.

"Come and get me," mocked Luke.

"Be careful what you wish for!" warned Simon. "Hit him Gryphos!"

Gryphos, still alight with flames rushed into the mist and was knocked back out.

Simon cursed under his breath.

"Jupiter is on a whole other level then your pathetic beys," hissed Luke.

"Oh shut up!" cursed Blaze. "Phoenix! Flame Tornado!"

A swirling mass of flames began spiraling around Phoenix before shooting up and creating a tornado composed of flames. It then began swirling towards the blue mist and ripped through it. But Jupiter rushed out and avoided the disaster.

"How did he...?" questioned Blaze.

Luke held up his hand and his crest glowed, reacting with his bey.

"His using his crest to enhance his beys capabilities!" gasped Max.

Luke's eyes glowed gold. "Time for round two! Jupiter! Destruction Bringer!"

Jupiter charged and began to rapidly strike Gryphos and Phoenix in a flash, smacking them all around the arena.

"Fight back Gryphos!" cried Simon as he threw his hand out.

"You too Phoenix!" added Blaze.

The two beys ran into Jupiter, and slowly but steadily began pushing it back.

"You really think that will work?" hissed Luke.

"Isn't it?" rebuffed Simon as Phoenix and Gryphos continued to push the black bey back.

"Oh please!" Luke rolled his eyes before pointing at his bey. "Jupiter!"

Jupiter glowed gold before pushing back against the two opposing beys and knocking them back.

"Seriously?" cursed Kiara.

"Unfortunately," added Max.

"Try this one on for size!" roared Simon. "Soar Gryphos!"

Gryphos swerved over to the edge of the arena and shot up into the air, nearing the top of the golden dome. It then shot down while setting itself ablaze.

"Go!" shouted Simon as he pointed up at his bey. "Wingtip Scorcher!"

Ad Gryphos shot down towards Jupiter like a raging bullet, a dragon/griffin hybrid appeared and crashed into Jupiter.

There was a mighty explosion and Simon was smiling proudly until Luke laughed.

"You fool!" mocked Luke. "You think a weak attack like that would affect me or Jupiter?"

Right on queue, Jupiter appeared from the explosion and was still spinning at full power.

"What the hell!" argued Blaze.

"This isn't developing good," commented Max, uneasy.

"Yeah," replied Kiara. "Nothing's working for them!"

"One more time Gryphos!" called out Simon. "He can't spin forever!"

"Can't he?" rebuffed Luke.

Simon ignored him however. "Fly again Gryphos!" The dragon/griffin hybrid flew to the top of the dome, so did Gryphos and it set itself ablaze once more.

"Go! Gryphos!" Simon roared. "Special Move! Skydiving Blaze Strike!"

Gryphos shot down even faster this time and smashed into Jupiter, toppling it and sending sparks flying.

"Now Blaze!" signaled Simon.

"Phoenix!" exclaimed Blaze. "Quick Attack!"

Phoenix shot away from the edge of the arena and smashed into Jupiter, knocking it over to the other side of the arena while Gryphos landed safely.

"Now attack again to make sure he doesn't get his balance back!" ordered Simon as Gryphos sped towards Jupiter and sent a mirage of attacks at it.

"You're turn Phoenix!" cheered Blaze as she pointed at Jupiter and her bey complied, running straight into it and knocking it back to the edge of the arena.

"Time to heat things up Phoenix!" commanded Blaze. "Flame Tornado!"

Once again, a swirling mass of flames appeared around Phoenix before rushing over to Jupiter and swallowing it up.

At the same time, Phoenix rushed into the tornado and began using a barrage style attack to inflict even more damage to Jupiter as the flames burnt it.

"Let me give you a hand!" cried Simon as Gryphos soared back into the sky and was set alight with flames. "Dive down and give Phoenix a hand! Wingtip Scorcher!"

Gryphos shot down into the tornado and smashed into Jupiter, plunging it into the bottom of the arena with a mighty crunch, also causing the tornado to fall apart and disappear.

"Did we win?" asked Blaze as she puffed.

"I think so," answered Simon.

But Luke was no wear near finished. "Time for round three!"

"Oh come on!" cursed Simon.

"Jupiter!" roared Luke. "Special move! God of Destruction!"

A golden armoured man appeared from Jupiter and began to spin around the arena, leaving behind a trail of shadows.

"Not this move!" panicked Max.

"We need to stop him!" commented Simon.

"Yeah!" replied Blaze. "Phoenix!"

"You too Gryphos!" added Simon as their beys shot towards Jupiter and the Golden Man.

"I don't think so!" spat Luke as he held up his hand and his crest glowed. "CHAOS MOVE!"

"Chaos Move!" gasped Max and Kiara simultaneously.

"CHAOS SHIELD!" continued Luke as a golden shielded, shaped similar in shape to a chaos crest appeared in front of Jupiter and the Golden Man, deflecting Phoenix and Gryphos before knocking them back.

"Do you see now that the power of chaos is unmatched!" hissed Luke as his eyes went completely gold and his veins began to pop out of his arms, neck and face.

By now, the Golden Man had completely turned the entire arena into one of shadows, hiding Jupiter.

"Now your fears will become life!" laughed Luke as he threw his hands into the air and Simon and Blaze screamed in pain. They clutched their heads and fell to their knees, writhing in pain.

"NO!" boomed Max angrily as he was surrounded by red energy that exploded from him and clashed with the golden dome.

Max's eyes glowed red and his crest appeared on his chest. "LET THEM GO LUKE! OR I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL HUNT YOU TO THE END'S OF THE EARTH!"

"Bring it bitch!" mocked Luke as his hands charged with golden energy. "Because your friends are doomed! CHAOS MOVE! JUPITER! RING OF DESTRUCTION!"

Luke threw the golden energy in his hands at Jupiter, removing the darkness from the arena and charging it with chaos energy.

A golden energy stream erupted from Jupiter and shot into the air, creating a golden sphere with a ring around it, similar to the planet Jupiter.

"Let the final round of terror begin!" roared Luke as the planet turned on its side and its ring began to spin around like a saw blade.

"NOOOOOO!" screamed Max in horror as it neared Simon and Blaze and their beys. "PLEASE GET UP!"

Max's crest on his hand glowed extremely bright and bypassed the golden dome and entered Simon and Blaze's minds. Suddenly, the two were freed from Luke's torturing and were glowing with red energy.

"Oh right Max!" cheered Kiara. "Your crest is protecting them!"

"It's too little too late!" mocked Luke as Jupiter's ring blade came even closer to the duo.

"Time for a combo attack!" suggested Simon.

"You got it!" answered Blaze. "Phoenix! Immortal Flame!"

A shining red light shot into the sky before exploding and raining down on Planet Jupiter, causing it to crack apart.

"Descend! Special Move!" roared Simon. "Inferno Destruction Ultimatum!"

Gryphos exploded into flames and shot forward into the Jupiter planet, breaking it apart and creating an explosion, that sent Jupiter flying and landing while wobbling greatly.

"NO!" screamed Luke. "I WON'T BE DEFEATED!"

"It looks that way," shot back Blaze.

"I WON'T LOSE!" roared Luke as golden chaos energy began to pour from his mouth and eyes. "CHAOS MOVE! SELF DESTRUCT!"

Jupiter began to glow gold and then electricity crackled through it.

"THE END HAS COME!" spat Luke, as his veins got bigger and turned black.

The golden dome surrounding the arena began to expand and zap objects with electricity. The kids in the stadium screamed while Max took hold of Kiara and a red shield of order energy appeared around them, protecting them.

"What are you doing?" asked Simon to the now power crazed Luke.

"I'M GOING TO MAKE JUPITER SELF DESTRCUCT!" barked Luke as his body twitched from the overload of power. "AND IT'S TAKING EVERYONE WITH HIM!"

"We have to stop him before he kills everyone!" panicked Simon as Jupiter's energy began blasting holes in the stadium.

"We need to combine our attacks together!" suggested Blaze.

Simon nodded. "Let's finish this Gryphos!"

"Soar up Phoenix!" added Blaze as she and Simon's beys shot up into the air.

"Combination Move!" shouted the duo simultaneously.

"Descend Special Move! Turbo Inferno Destruction Ultimatum!" exclaimed Simon as Gryphos exploded into flames and shot towards Jupiter from the top of the stadium like a meteor.

"Special Move!" continued Blaze. "Flame Tornado!"

At the same time, Phoenix moved so that it was on top of Gryphos, and the flames around it turned into a tornado, powering up the combo attack even more.

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" shouted the duo as their beys smashed through the chaos energy being released by Jupiter. They eventually broke through and struck Jupiter, creating an enormous explosion.

When there was only dust left, Max recalled his shield and ran to the arena. "Simon! Blaze!"

Lying on the ground injured, were Simon and Blaze. On the other side was Luke, lying on his back bleeding and with his crest no longer glowing. Smashed into the bottom of the arena was a cracked Jupiter. Meanwhile, Gryphos and Phoenix spun slowly before coming to a stop.

"Simon and Blaze win!" announced Jones, with the crowd bursting into applause that the duo had saved them from Luke's wrath.

Some nurses appeared with stretches and took the three bladers away. As Luke was taken away, Max watched as his chaos crest glowed gold faintly once more before vanishing from his hand.

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><p><strong>To be continued: Whew, that was intense, I hope. Because that was what I was going for. I hope this chapter satisfied you because writing it did for me. <strong>

**Also with the vision, I don't know if some of you realized, but the name Princess 'Eninl' is an anagram for Ninel. **

**Hope you all enjoyed the chapter and are psyched for the next, which will feature Jaden clashing with Kiara. And as you know, ****PLEASE REVIEW! **


	29. Chapter 29: Yin VS Yang

**Hey there fans, I'm glad everyone liked the last chapter and all and I'm also glad that I got to 200 reviews! I took some time to write this chapter because I had a thought about what SwiftTheWritingMagician had said in their review and I had to do this whole back story thing and weave it in so it matched everything else that was going on. I had to rewrite it a couple of times because I didn't get it right the first few times. Also, the new image for this story is now up! What do you think? Anyway, onto the review responses. **

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><p><strong>TheNightmareBringer: <strong>Intense was what I was going for. There was also no way I was going to have Luke kill everyone either, the story isn't going into that kind of violence…yet. That's more for the "Chaotic Order" and "Dark Cometh" storylines of the season. Anyway, the battle between Kiara and Jaden will be intense. Also, because Grace of Flame requested I do this battle eventually in the story and I promised, I'm making this chapter in her memory. I already did for another one but I think she deserves it.

**SwiftTheWritingMagician: ***Bows* Thank you for your review and how good you thought the chapter was. Now, you pointed out a few things I could improve on, and as before, I will take all of it in. However, let me explain that some off the mystery in this story leads on to a much bigger arc, which won't occur in this season. All the stories are linked by not just the characters but by the actual plot itself. In the short synopsis of the story it explains the "return of order and chaos," which is a **MAJOR** factor in the story. The whole actual plot is based around the war between "order" and "chaos." This is why, *spoilers*, Max is having the strange visions and the whole crest's of chaos and order thing occurs. These certain factors are apart of a much bigger story. I didn't want to sort of throw things in when necessary so I decided to spread it across all of the stories to balance it out. So yes, there will be a lot of mysterious all over the place simply to balance out the story of "Beyblade: Metal Heroes" overall. But you are still right and I will still take in your suggestions. Also, some of the stuff in the story are "puzzle pieces" as I like to call them. And the gang isn't going to be able to solve the puzzle without all of the pieces. This is why I'm making the "Dark Figure" or "Lord Zygor's" identity remain a mystery to everyone and essentially will remain out of reach until we get to the "Dark Cometh" arc of this season. But the whole thing is about to unravel starting with chapter 30.

**AKA99: **I guess in a way they had to win or otherwise everyone would kind of be dead from Jupiter's chaos move Self Destruct. And intense was what I was going for. It's also kind of hard not to get that across when there's a deranged teen threatening to commit suicide and take everyone with him because he's a sore loser.

**GoldenAngel99: **Intense was my goal. And we will find out more about Frieda's condition once we get to chapter 30, where the whole "dark plot" finally begins to unravel. For Morgan, well, I have a special roll for him to play, which will be coming up, in estimate, chapter 31.

**Alpha Dragonis:** I actually didn't realize until you pointed it out that it was from the Green Lantern oath. I totally forgot, I guess that's where I got the idea from. It was a great chapter wasn't it, and Max's crest is a mystery that won't necessarily be solved soon…or even in this season for that matter.

**Bunnywarriorprincess: **Crazy and awesome! Some of the best words to describe the story. Thanks for supporting this story and I hope you will continue to read and review it.

**Bristleclaw: **It was awesome wasn't it and I'm glad you reviewed because you are the 199th reviewer! The first step to discovering what will happen to the people in the hospital will be in chapter 30, count on it!

**Neko45: **While your OC isn't bad, I don't expect guest OC's because it's too hard to contact expect by writing a chapter. Sorry, but thanks for contributing and being the 200th reviewer for this story!

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><p><span><strong>NOW FOR AN IMPORTANT NOTE: <strong>Because this story has done better then I have expected, I will be drawing up some posters of the main characters and their bey beasts. So, I need the following **VERY **descriptive appearances, clothes and looks of bey beasts of the following characters.

**Kiara Summers: Bey Beast-Flame Solaria-TheNightmareBringer. **

**Simon Nikso: Bey Beast-Gryphos Dragon-AKA99**

**Blaze Markaru: Bey Beast-Armoured Phoenix-RedPhoenix10123780**

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><p><strong>So send those in as quickly as possible so I can start making the posters! Time for the story, and <strong>**PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!**

_In memory of Grace of Flame, who requested the battle in this chapter, I have kept my promise. May your soul rest in peace. _

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><p><strong>Chapter 29: Yin VS Yang <strong>

"How interesting," mussed Lord Zygor as he tapped his fingers together. On the far wall above the door was a TV, which was broadcasting the battles in the tournament to him.

"Luke was able to control the crest's power for much longer then I expected." Zygor moved his hand over to his chest board where he used a white castle to take out on of his own pawns.

Zygor chuckled. "No matter, Luke was no vital part of my plan. But the crests possession is also much stronger then I had predicted. It looks like we'll need an alternative way of utilizing the chaos crest. It was funny watching that foolish boy go crazy and then try to kill everyone. Oh well, his loss."

Suddenly, the shadow appeared in the room and loomed over the door.

**"****How did your pawn fair?" **

Zygor snorted, "He tried to commit suicide and kill everyone else because he was about to lose. Now the tournament has been delayed a day as well."

**"****Typical. No ordinary person can use the power of chaos or order without proper training." **

"I still don't understand why you won't tell me what chaos and order actually are?" questioned Zygor.

**"****Hehehe. That is beyond your understanding Zygor. Chaos and Order go back to the beginning of time itself. They are the two cores that create light and darkness, justice and injustice, good and evil. Wielding even a fragment gives a mortal much more power then they should ever have." **

"Is this why you refrain from giving me more power?" asked Zygor.

**"****Yes. It would be a mistake to give a petty human that much power. It would kill them almost instantly." **

"May I ask Master?" continued Zygor. "Why did Nemesis himself not use the power of chaos?"

**"****It was simply chance that the two energy cores returned with my revival. And because of my immense power, it was easy to manipulate the power of chaos considering my own power originated from there, just as Nemesis' did." **

"And Max Smith is able to use the power because he is the reincarnation of the Crimson Hero?" asked Zygor.

**"****Yes. He is the biggest threat to my plans, but now that the seed has been placed within him, he will be no harder to remove then a fly. I must rest now and regain some energy from the next battle between yin and yang. Their clashing of powers shall fuel me well. Today, the grudge match that began thousand's of years ago will finish." **

"Of course master," said Zygor as the shadow vanished. "Kiara and Jaden will both be our puppets in this battle, whether they like it or not."

Zygor reached again for the chessboard and picked up a black pawn piece and moved it towards a white pawn piece. "This will truly be a battle of wits."

* * *

><p>Max lay in his warm bed but was unsuccessful at falling to sleep. He tried to think of good and happy things rather then all the bad stuff that had been happening lately, as well as the strange visions he had been experiencing. But it was no use.<p>

He didn't notice his crest beginning to glow and his bey reacting to it.

* * *

><p><em>Suddenly, two triquetra symbols appeared on the wall, one pink, and one blue. Max watched as the symbols got brighter, and brighter, until they swallowed him up. <em>

* * *

><p><em>"<em>_Who are you people?" asked Max. "Where am I? How did I get here?"_

_"__Don't be rude Max," replied Athena. "After all, we have invited you here."_

_"__I don't remember getting an invitation," spat Max coldly. _

_"__It was compulsory," snickered Hermes. "So you didn't get a choice in the matter."_

_"__Well I'm here," said Max. "And I want to leave now. So, how do I get out of here?"_

_"__You can't just leave," replied Athena. "It doesn't work that way."_

_"__You have to defeat us," finished Hermes. _

_"__Oh terrific," cursed Max. _

* * *

><p><em>"<em>_If you lose this match!" added Hermes as he attached a blue bey to his launcher. "We get your soul! Along with all your beys power and your own!" _

_"__This sounds an awful lot like Yu-Gi-Oh," joked Max. "So, if I lose you take my soul. And then do you banish my mind to the shadow realm or to the netherworld?"_

_"__Oh this is no joke," spat Athena. "You will lose your soul. And unlike how they do it in the cartoons, it is a very slow and extremely painful process." _

_"__And we will enjoin every second of it," hissed Hermes. _

_"__Then I won't lose!" replied Max. "Let's do this!"_

* * *

><p><em>"<em>_No!" exclaimed Hermes. "I won't lose!"_

_Hermes held up his right hand and his crest glowed blue. _

_"__Stop Hermes!" warned Athena._

_"__Stop!" called out Athena again as blue markings appeared all over Hermes body. _

_"__It's too late," replied Hermes as the markings glowed. "I'm losing control!"_

_"__Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" screamed Hermes as he fell to his knees. _

_Athena held up her right hand and her crest glowed. Red markings appeared all over her body and she cried out in pain. _

_"__Hermes!" called out Athena. _

_"__Athena!" called out Hermes. _

_The two held up their crests to each other and there was an explosion of light that blinded Max. _

* * *

><p><em>Dark energy shot from the hole the stinger had made like a bullet and began slashing as Quetzalcoatl, smashing off its parts and leaving the deepest scars. <em>

_"__Stop!" begged Taylor. "Please stop!"_

_"__Never!" barked Morgan gruesomely as the dark energy slashed Taylor across the chest and his legs before throwing him against the wall and then pounding its bey straight into the ground. _

_"__My turn!" chuckled Regina as she set her sights on the petrified Linh. "Dark move! Pitch-Black Chaotic Attack!"_

_The black lady with arrows and a bow appeared and sprouted wings of darkness, in a single moment; darkness spread across the arena and plunged Archangel into the ground. Then, the darkness picked up Linh, and plowed her into the ground with a sickening crunch. _

_Everyone just watched horror struck, unable to say anything. Morgan and Regina recalled their beys and walked off, laughing as they did it._

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><p><em>"<em>_End this Huntress!" roared Artemis as the purple and black Huntress appeared and smashed the bottom of the stadium and created an explosion of dark energy. _

_Frieda cried out as the explosion sent her flying into the back wall and the same went for her bey._

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><p><em>Regina gave a twisted smile before roaring, "Dark move!"<em>

_Regina gathered a ball of dark energy in her hands and her eyes went pitch black. She then threw the ball of energy at her bey and it radiated with dark lightning._

_"__Pitch Black Chaotic Attack!" spat Regina. _

_The Woman sprouted wings of dark energy before covering the arena in darkness. _

_Aiya watched as her worst fears came to life in front of her. This time, she really did cry._

_The lights in the stadium dimmed and it went cold. Everyone was silent. _

_"__Hahahahahahahahhahahaha!" laughed Regina. "End this Atlanta!"_

_A dark bolt of lightning appeared and struck Arachne with a crash. _

_Aiya cried out as she was flung back from the impact and her bey was smashed into the ground._

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><p>Max still experiencing the nightmare threw the covers from his body and gripped the sides of the bed. He groaned as the memories of Princess Eninl flashed before him.<p>

* * *

><p><em>"<em>_What is wrong Princess Eninl?" asked the Knight as he placed his helmet down on a wooden desk. "What troubles you?" _

_The Princess looked up and revealed her face, shocking Max. _

_Numerous things were racing through Max's mind 'That's the girl that looked just like Ninel when I had a previous vision.'_

* * *

><p>The scene vanished and was replaced with a glorious white palace. This time, Max was pulled into it. He screamed as he plunged from the ceiling and landed hard on the ground.<p>

"Why can't I ever wake up when I want to?" groaned Max as he stood up and rubbed his neck. "Where did I land this time?"

He gazed around the white palace and noticed that it looked newer in technology compared to Princess Eninl's castle. The floor was white marble and stone pillars rose from the ground to support the shining gold roof. The walls were silver in colour and had strange symbols on them. The far wall had a golden symbol shaped like an O sort of shape while the opposite wall had a purple triangle like shape.

Max's crest glowed and seemed to guide him towards the golden symbol. As he touched the wall the symbol changed slightly so it became an Omega Order Symbol.

"This just get's more confusing," the Flame Swordsman blader noted as he turned and gazed at the purple triangle symbol. "So that must be the Crest of Chaos symbol."

Suddenly, there were voices and Max watched as one of the doors on the walls opened and a short stubby man appeared. He was wearing red robes and held a small trumpet in one hand and a scroll in the other. He had a big white moustache, short grey hair and freckles.

"Oh thank the gods of order and chaos!" the Man cheered as he stuttered across the hall. "The Queen is finally giving birth!"

Max watched as the Man opened another door and disappeared through it. "Guess it couldn't help to follow."

Max made his way over to the door and opened it. Quickly he noticed a big staircase and walked up it. Upon making it to the top, he heard the cries of a baby. Moving towards the sound, Max came to a glorious chamber. It was composed of a ruby red floor, emerald green walls and a sapphire blue ceiling. The bed itself was huge and made up of purple sheets and silver pillows. Resting in the bed, was what Max assumed was the Queen. She had long black braided hair and wore a small gold crown. Her eyes were barely open and she appeared ill. Standing at the bed was what appeared to be the King. He was tall, and wore red and gold garments. He wore a large gold crown and had short black hair and a beard. Standing next to him was the Man from before. Max assumed he was the chief advisor. Finally, standing away was what appeared to be a Doctor, and he clutched in his arms two small babies wrapped in green cloth. Both were crying.

"At least this is a happy scene," Max said with a smile.

"Luther," said the Queen weakly to the King.

"Yes Lily," answered the King, Luther.

"My time is up…"

"No," gasped Luther as he took his wife hands in his own. "You can't leave me. Not now." Tears began to flow from Luther's eyes; the same went for the Advisor.

"I had done my duty," replied Lily. "I have ruled by your side and given you two heirs."

"But I love you…" whispered Luther as he kissed Lily on the forehead.

"I love you too," she replied, coughing. "Till death, do we part." She coughed once more and closed her eyes. The grip on Luther's hands loosened and the Queen slumped down.

Max couldn't stop himself from crying.

"King Luther," interrupted the Doctor. "The babies are both girls."

* * *

><p>Max watched as his surroundings swirled around him and changed to that of a throne room. Sitting in the golden throne was King Luther. He still looked very sad.<p>

The room itself was packed with knights, and peasants and other people presumably from the kingdom.

The Advisor stepped up and blew his trumpet to gain everyone's attention. He then took out a scroll and opened it. He read it out loud. "Attention people of the Kingdom, rejoice! The Queen has given birth to two new heirs!"

The crowd erupts into cheer, before becoming confused. One of the Knights asks, "But there have never been two heirs! How will we decide which becomes the new ruler?"

The Advisor replies, "True. Ever since the Crimson Hero ended the War of Chaos and Order, the two cores of light and darkness have become the balance."

'Crimson Hero?' thought Max. 'Why does that name sound familiar?'

"In order to decide which is more capable of running the kingdom when they become of age," continued the Advisor. "We shall split the balance momentarily and allow the heralds of Order and Chaos to pick one of the heirs and determine their capabilities."

King Luther stood up as his two daughters; both still clad in green cloth were taken over to a table on the stage and placed down on it. Max didn't notice this before, but realized there was a giant Yin Yang symbol on the wall above the King's throne. It lit up with black and white energy as the King stepped over to the table and removed his gloves. He held his hands out to reveal a white Order symbol on his right hand and a black Chaos symbol on his left hand.

"He has both an Order and Chaos crest?" gasped Max in shock.

"O' will of Order hear the chant I recite!" called out the King. "Come, bring me power and victory in this fight! In blackest day, in brightest night! Shining power of Order unleash your might!"

The white energy from the Yin Yang symbol on the wall swirled out of it and hovered above the two heirs.

"O' will of Chaos hear my plead!" chanted the King again. "Grant me the power, that I need! In brightest day, in blackest night! Dark power of Chaos unleash your might!"

This time, the black energy from the Yin Yang symbol appeared and hovered above the twins next to the order energy.

"Now," announced the Advisor. "The two heralds of order and balance, Solaria and Serpiente will chose the one they believe is better suited to either chaos or order."

The King sat down as the two energy cores began to take shape. The white order energy transformed into a beautiful lioness wearing a pendant with a ruby gem in the middle while the black chaos energy transformed into a serpent with a tiara with a jade gem on it. Solaria roared while Serpiente hissed before they swirled around the twins. Solaria entered the twin on the right, causing her to glow red. Meanwhile, Serpiente flew into the twin on the left, causing her to glow green.

"Wait!" gasped Max. "Solaria and Serpiente? Those are Kiara and Jaden's bey beasts! What in the world is going on?"

"It has been decided!" called out the Advisor. "Princess Siana has been chosen by Solaria and is now the Princess of Order!"

The crowd burst into applause.

"While Princess Minara has been chosen by Serpiente and is now the Princess of Chaos!"

The crowd clapped and cheered again.

* * *

><p>The scene swirled and changed again, this time, Max ended up in a cemetery. Standing at the grave of his wife Lily was King Luther. He appeared much older then he was before as he had grey hair now.<p>

"My Lord," interrupted the Advisor, now bald, as he approached Luther. "I have some bad news."

The King sighed. "What is it?"

"I was looking through some old manuscripts written by the final archduke of the kingdom before the Crimson Hero's triumph. And what I found is very…disturbing."

"How disturbing Simone?" asked Luther.

Simone gulped. "According to this, the archduke was visited by a dark entity in his dreams. The entity prophesized the destruction of the balance through the splitting of chaos and order."

Luther gasped. "The selection for the heir split chaos and order."

"Yes," stuttered Simone. "And he read that this would bring disaster to the world and awaken the evil known as…."

Simone paused and he began to tremble with fear.

"Tell me Simone!" demanded Luther as he grabbed Simone by the shoulders.

"Nemesis," whispered Simone in fear. He began to cry and fell to his knees.

"Oh dear," said the King as he looked into the darkening sky and saw a flash of lightning.

"Nemesis!" cried Max. "This can't be! Are they saying the rumors that Nemesis rose in the past are real?"

* * *

><p>Max didn't get to ask as the scene changed again.<p>

The King stepped into his throne room sword in hand. "My Knights!" he called and a dozen or so knights appeared.

"What is it your majesty?" asked one of them.

"I have been warned of a great evil approaching and we must…"

Luther was cut off as he felt a blade ripping through his stomach.

"King Luther!" gasped one of the Knights as the King fell to his knees. The sword sticking out of his stomach was pulled out by Minara who had a twisted smirk plastered across her face. She looked just like Jaden and wore dark green and purple robes.

"That's Jaden!" exclaimed Max in shock.

"Hello daddy," Minara snickered.

"Minara," gasped Luther on the ground. "What are you doing?"

"I'm taking what's rightfully mine!" declared Minara. "The throne! The I shall kill sister and end the time of order!"

"No!" protested Luther. "You can't destroy the balance! If you do, you shall awaken Nemesis!"

"I really don't care!" scoffed Minara.

"How dare you defy the King!" cursed one of the knights as he rushed at Minara with his sword.

"Oh please!" snapped Minara as she flicked her hand and a whip of green energy appeared in her hands. She then flicked it at the Knight who was thrown back into the wall from the impact.

A few more knights charged at her, but Minara unleashed green energy beams that vaporized them.

"Why are you doing this?" asked Luther as he attempted to stand.

Minara kicked him back down. "Because I've seen the world for what it really is. Worthy of destruction. I shall make chaos reign supreme and destroy order."

"But you will awaken Nemesis!" the King rebutted. "He will destroy you and everything that exists!"

Minara shrugged. "So what? I like destruction! The more the better!"

"You are no daughter of mine!" spat Luther.

"Nor are you a father of mine!" answered Minara as she revealed her chaos crest. "However, I shall relieve you from your duty as King!"

The dark green energy from Minara's crest swirled into the air before surrounding Luther.

"What are you doing to me!" protested Luther.

"I'm taking the full power of chaos!" laughed Minara as the chaos crest on Luther's hand vanished and Minara's was replaced with the dark half of the Yin Yang symbol.

"The kingdom is mine!" Minara laughed devilishly. "Mwahahahaha!"

Max's mouth was wide open in shock. "I can't believe what I'm seeing!"

* * *

><p>The scene changed again, this time Max was at the top of a tower where the roof had been blown off. In the center of the room was a stand where a bey coloured black and white and with Yin Yang like symbols on it rested in a glass case.<p>

Suddenly from the stairs appeared Minara who laughed as she saw the Yin Yang themed bey.

"At last," she chuckled as she made her way towards the case. "The ultimate balance bey is mine!"

"Not so fast Minara!" called a voice. Both Minara and Max turned to see Siana, wearing red and brown garments appear from the steps. Max noted that she looked just like Kiara.

"Sister!" growled Minara with hatred. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing!" retorted Siana.

"Isn't it obvious," loafed Minara. "I'm taking the ultimate power and destroying order."

"Do you really wish to start the war of chaos and order all over again?" questioned Siana.

"Yes!" spat Minara. "I deserved the throne! You always got everything! Friends, power. But worst of all, the throne was going to go to you! But I think it's about time we change that!"

"_This _is about being jealous of me?" questioned Siana.

"What else sister!" barked Minara.

"Then I have no choice," said Siana gravely. "I must stop you!"

Minara laughed. "How? I have the full power of chaos at my side! How could you possibly beat me?" Minara showed her Yin chaos crest.

"With my _full _power or order," answered Siana as she revealed a Yang Order crest.

"Impossible!" gasped Minara.

"Father relinquished his last power to me!" replied Siana. "I shall use it to stop you."

"Fine!" snarled Minara as she conjured a ball of green energy and threw it at Siana who jumped out of the way. Minara growled and created a whip and attempted to attack Siana with it.

Siana however smirked as she created a ruby red shield to deflect the whip. Minara tried again, but Siana transformed her shield into a sword and slashed the whip in half.

Siana then conjured a ruby energy ball and threw it at the ground. Minara could only watch as energy streams exploded from the ground and shot towards her.

Minara however shielded herself in a cocoon before breaking it open to dissolve the remaining energy shots.

The two sisters death starred each other and created balls of energy, which they threw towards the other. The two attacks hit dead on and canceled each other out.

"It appears our powers are equal," snickered Minara. "Or are they? Serpiente rise!"

Behind Minara appeared the malicious serpent who hissed at Siana.

"Come on out Solaria!" chanted Siana as the lioness appeared behind her and roared.

"Attack Serpiente!" commanded Minara as her beast shot forward.

"Strike back Solaria!" ordered Siana as her beast also shot forward and clashed with the serpent.

"Wow," gasped Max. "This is incredible. To think, all of this happened in the past."

Suddenly, there was a burst of energy from the two beasts and the ground underneath Max crumbled. He fell and screamed.

When Max opened his eyes, he was floating in the sky over a ruined kingdom. Suddenly, he saw a giant black energy creature which Max recognized as Nemesis appear. "Oh my god."

* * *

><p>Max woke up, panting and sweating. "I have to tell the others!"<p>

* * *

><p>Max, Simon and Blaze made their way down the hall to Kiara's room. Both Simon and Blaze had recovered from their battle with Luke, having only sustained minor injuries.<p>

"Do you think she knew all about what you saw?" asked Blaze.

Max shrugged. "Maybe. But we definitely need to know."

"Here's the room," said Simon as they stopped at a door with a sing that said _Stay out or beware the Lioness' claw._

"Maybe we should wait till she's up?" suggested Blaze as she studied the sign.

"Nah," shrugged Max as he knocked on the door. "Kiara! It's Max! I need to talk to you about something!"

Max turned to look at Blaze and Simon, who both shrugged.

Max went to knock again when the door burst opened, knocking Max to the ground.

"WHAT!" shouted Kiara.

Max still lying on the ground, groaned before holding up a piece of paper for Kiara to see. Drawn on it were the order and chaos symbols that were on the walls in the hall from Max's vision.

Kiara's eyes widened as she studied the paper. She looked out into the hall, and when she saw no one watching, ushered Team Nova Flare into her room.

The walls were red and had flames printed on them. Her queen-sized bed was red and black with golden pillows while her desk was placed near the window. Resting on the bedside table was a red/yellow fire lamp, which illuminated the room and a walk in closet was in the corner. Max didn't notice the punching bag hanging from the roof and walked into it.

"Don't touch anything!" warned Kiara.

"I didn't!" whined Max. "It touched me!"

"Technically _you _walked into it," pointed out Simon.

"Nah uh," protested Max. "That punching bag came out of nowhere."

Blaze just shook her head.

"Max?" asked Kiara. "How did you find out about that symbol?"

"I saw it in one of my many vision," answered Max. "And you were in it and so was Jaden. Or two people who looked exactly like you were in it and had the same bey beasts as you."

Kiara sat down on her bed and sighed. "I've been keeping this secret for a long time. My family has been as well."

"Secret?" questioned Blaze.

Kiara pulled her top away slightly to reveal her left shoulder. There was a scar, and next to it was a birthmark shaped like the order symbol Max had drawn.

"So that vision was real?" gasped Max.

Kiara nodded. "I didn't say anything before because I wasn't sure Max's powers were the same as mine. But they are."

Kiara stood up and said, "I am the descendant of Siana, the Goddess of Fire and Light. Also the Queen of Order."

"So that means Jaden is…" started Simon.

Kiara nodded and finished for him. "The Goddess of Torture and Misery. Also the Queen of Chaos."

"That's why you have Solaria," said Max.

Kiara took out her bey and looked at it. "The bey has been passed down through the centuries. Right now, I am the current Queen or Order."

"And Jaden is the current Queen of Chaos," finished Blaze.

"Long again," said Kiara. "The legendary Crimson Hero ended the first Chaos and Order War and created the Balance, which brought peace to the land. But one day, the Queen died in childbirth and left two daughters. This was the first time two heirs had been born. In order to decide which was more suited to rule, the two heralds of order and chaos chose an heir. Solaria picked Siana while Serpiente picked Minara. The two sisters would never get along. Siana would be liked by everyone while Minara was seen as an outcast."

Kiara paused, letting Max, Simon and Blaze take it all in.

"Eventually," continued Kiara. "Minara grew jealous of her sister and isolated herself from the kingdom. She began to plot her revenge against her father, her sister and the kingdom. She stole her father's power from him and then attempted to destroy the bey of balance. But Siana, wielding the remainder of the King's power battled her sister. Their battle shattered the balance bey and created Flame Solaria and Venom Serpiente."

"Does this mean," gulped Simon. "Jaden has the power of chaos?"

"It would appear so," answered Blaze.

"That's why you and Jaden hate each other so much," observed Max.

"Yes," said Kiara. "That's why I need to defeat her once and for all."

"The sun's about to rise," Simon said as he looked at the window. "That means your battle with Jaden will be in about one hour."

"And I'm going to beat her," finished Kiara as she held up Solaria.

* * *

><p>The crowd, still a bit uneasy from Luke's attempt at suicide and taking everyone with him, took their seats in the stadium.<p>

The crowd cheered as Team Nova Flare entered the stadium while they were silent as Jaden and Artemis entered.

"All right everyone!" announced Mr. Jones. "Team Nova Flare are in the lead right now with one win! The next battle must be won by Team King Destructors or they will be eliminated from the tournament! Since Nova Flare picked last time, would Team King destructors put up their first blader?"

Jaden, with a twisted smirk plastered across her face stepped up the arena.

"Now will Team Nova Flare select their blader to battle Jaden," stated Jones.

Kiara took a deep breath. "Here goes."

Kiara stepped over to the arena and faced Jaden.

"It's time we settle this age old rivalry," Jaden spat.

"Fine with me," answered Kiara.

"Prepare your beys, bladers!" called out Jones.

Kiara and Jaden both attached Solaria and Serpiente respectively to their launchers.

"Three!" cried Kiara.

"Two!" continued Jaden.

"One!" finished the crowd.

"Let It Rip!"

Both Kiara and Jaden roared as Solaria and Serpiente spun into the arena.

"Good luck Kiara," whispered Max.

"Today's the day Serpiente will devour Solaria!" laughed Jaden as her bey shot towards Solaria.

"I don't think so!" retorted Kiara as she threw her hand out. "Counter Solaria!"

Solaria and Serpiente smashed into each other, sending sparks flying throughout the arena. Neither bey however, could over power the other and they were pushed back from the attack.

Jaden growled. "Again Serpiente!"

"You too Solaria!" shouted Kiara.

The two herald beys clashed again, this time on the move as they rushed around the arena.

"Keep pushing Solaria!"

"Devour them Serpiente!"

The two beys once again failed to overpower the other and moved away.

"Looks like this cannot be settled with an ordinary battle," commented Jaden.

"Ordinary?" questioned Kiara.

Jaden smirked. "What you are about to see is the power of chaos!"

Jaden threw her hand into the air, and a dark green chaos crest appeared on it.

"There it is!" pointed out Simon.

"O' will of Chaos hear my plead!" chanted Jaden. "Grant me the power, that I need! In brightest day, in blackest night! Dark power of Chaos unleash your might!"

A dark green chaos crest appeared across the arena and a dome of the same colour surrounded them.

"Not again!" groaned Blaze.

"I have you now!" spat Jaden as her eyes glowed a jade colour. "Destroy them Serpiente!"

The serpent bey shot forward and sent a shattering attack at Solaria, which sent it flying to the other side of the arena.

"Again!" roared Jaden as Serpiente sent a mirage of attacks against its rival bey.

Kiara growled. "You won't beat me that easily!"

"It sure looks like it!" retorted Jaden.

"Oh really," answered Kiara as she held out her hand.

"No!" panicked Jaden. "You wouldn't!"

Kiara ignored her and chanted, "O' will of Order hear the chant I recite! Come; bring me power and victory in this fight! In blackest day, in brightest night! Shining power of Order unleash your might!"

As she said those words the arena lit up with ruby energy and an order crest coloured red appeared on Kiara's hand.

"Talk about evening the playing field," commented Max.

"Now get her!" ordered Blaze as Kiara nodded in reply.

"Roar Solaria!" exclaimed Kiara.

Solaria glowed orange and the fierce Lioness appeared as the bey sped forward and knocked Serpiente away.

Jaden groaned in anger. "Serpiente strike-"

She was cut off however, when Solaria smashed Serpiente near the edge of the arena.

"Push her out Solaria!" cried Kiara as her bey and Serpiente pushed against each other and sparks flew. However, Solaria was ever so slowly pushing Serpiente back near the edge of the arena.

"No!" protested Jaden as she scrunched up her fists. "I refuse to lose to you!"

"Well you're just going to have to except the facts!" Kiara replied with a smirk.

"Watch it bitch!" cursed Jaden. "You're dealing with forces you can't possibly imagine!"

"Oh I know what I'm dealing with!" Kiara responded. "And I will definitely defeat you! Knock her out Solaria!"

Solaria complied by pushing Serpiente right to the edge of the arena where the bey began to lose balance.

"She almost has her!" cheered Simon.

Suddenly, Jaden was cloaked in jade energy and she smirked devilishly. "Oh, we were having so much fun and now you want to end it?"

"I do actually!" cried Kiara. "And your bey is either about to have a stadium out or have a sleep out!"

True it was as Serpiente was spinning right on the edge, and the longer it stayed there the more it began to wobble and lose spin.

"No one tells me they'll win and get's away with it!" roared Jaden as she exploded with jade energy. Her eyes turned black and her bey suddenly regained spin power.

"Say what!" cursed Kiara as Serpiente knocked Solaria out of the way and moved to the center of the arena.

"Let the _true _game begin," taunted Jaden as Serpiente exploded with energy that sent Solaria flying all over the arena.

Kiara groaned. 'I have to do something.' She thought. 'But what? Jaden's power is increasing exponentially. I need to combat it somehow.'

"Come on Kiara!" Max cheered on. "Show her what _true_ power is!"

Kiara nodded and turned her attention back to her arch enemy.

"Go Solaria!" roared Kiara as her bey exploded with ruby energy that broke through Serpiente energy.

"What!"

"Counterattack Solaria!" exclaimed Kiara as her bey rushed forward and smashed into Serpiente, knocking it back.

"How dare you damage me and my bey!" spat Jaden.

"I dare alright!" Kiara retorted. "Hit her again Solaria!"

The fierce Lioness appeared on the field and roared, letting off a sonic stream that blasted Serpiente away.

"I'm going to defeat you Jaden and end this once and for all!" Kiara cried.

Jaden gave Kiara a dirty look and spat. "I'll never let you defeat me!"

As she said those words, she exploded with jade energy. "I refuse to let you defeat me!"

"Say no to this!" answered Kiara as he flung her hand out. "Special Move! Solaria! Queen Lioness Rising Sundance!"

Solaria obeyed by moving over to Serpiente and then spinning around it. At the same time, the Lioness pounced on the Serpent and clawed at it.

Jaden gritted her teeth at the sight and watched as a blinding light erupted from Solaria. Jaden cried out as she blocked the light with her hand.

Kiara threw her hand into the air. "Solaria! Crush her!"

Her bey responded by charging forward and smashing into Serpiente, sending it spiraling away.

Jaden growled in frustration as she was still blinded by the light Solaria had created.

"Now lay it on!" ordered Kiara as Solaria sent a barrage of attacks towards Serpiente, all of which hit and sent critical damage at the Venom bey.

"ENOUGH!" erupted Jaden in fury as she threw her hands into the air. "I WILL NOT LET YOU MOCK ME ANYMORE QUEEN OF ORDER! I'M NOT JUST GOING TO DEFEAT YOU! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU AND MAKE EVERYONE WATCH BEFORE I KILL THEM!"

"I can take anything you can throw!" Kiara retorted.

"SPECIAL MOVE!" responded Jaden as she was enveloped in jade energy. "VENOM DARKNESS!"

Serpiente suddenly repelled Solaria with a quick swift smash before circling the opposing bey at high speeds.

"YOU WANTED TO TURN ON THE LIGHT HUH!" laughed Jaden. "NOW I'M GOING TO TURN ON THE DARK!"

Suddenly, the light that Solaria had created was devoured by a cloud of darkness that shrouded the arena and blocked Serpiente from sight.

"This is just like Luke's special move as well," commented Simon.

"Now then," chuckled Jaden, who had regained her composure but was still shrouded in jade energy. "Serpiente! Destroy her!"

From the darkness appeared Serpiente, swift and fast, as it landed a few serious blows on Solaria before vanishing back into the dark mist.

"She's flipped the whole thing on Kiara," observed Blaze, worryingly.

"I'm going to make your life a living hell," taunted Jaden as her hand twitched. "Again Serpiente!"

This time instead of the bey appearing, the malevolent Serpent did and began to stab Solaria with its fangs. The Lioness appeared and attempted to claw at its foe, but the Serpent was too fast and wrapped itself around the lion and began to choke it.

"No!"

Jaden grinned as Kiara fell to her knees. "It's over!"

"Come on Kiara!" encouraged Max. "You can beat her! Don't let her get inside your head! I believe in you! We all do!"

"Max's right!" shouted Blaze. "No way you can lose to this bitch!"

"We're all fighting by your side!" added Simon. "Till the very end!"

Kiara shed a single tear as she listened to her friends cheering. She smiled as she looked at her friends.

"You guys," she said. "I've always been a loner in life. I always thought friends were a burden. But now I realize, the power of friendship is stronger then anything." Kiara stood up and gazed confidently at Jaden. "And I will use that power to beat you, Queen of Chaos!"

"Oh," loafed Jaden. "Just shut up! I mean it!" She suddenly thinks for a bit before saying, "You know what! I'm going to shut it for you! And then make you scream for eternity!"

"I'll never bow to someone like you!" answered Kiara. "Show them our power Solaria!"

As Kiara threw her hand up, the trapped Lioness broke free and scratched the Serpent. Jaden watched as a deep scratch mark suddenly appeared on her chest and she screamed.

Solaria then lit up with energy and expelled the dark mist, exposing Serpiente. The bey then charged at it and smashed it with a huge force, causing cracks to appear on the face bolt and energy ring of the Venom bey.

"HOW DARE YOU!" screamed Jaden in torment.

"I dare you malevolent bitch!" spat Kiara in reply. "Lay it on her Solaria! Firestorm Fury!"

The Lioness appeared once again and roared, this time unleashing a wave of fire across the field that was heading right for Serpiente.

"NOT ON MY WATCH!" exclaimed Jaden as the flames neared. "VENOM BARRIER!"

A jade green barrier suddenly appeared around Serpiente, protecting the bey from the flames.

"BEST OF ALL!" laughed Jaden. "IT SENDS YOUR ATTACK BACK TWICE AS STRONG!"

Jaden grinned devilishly as the flames suddenly turned and shot towards the defenseless Solaria.

"Watch out Kiara!" shouted Max from outside the chaos dome.

"TOO LITTLE TOO LATE!" taunted Jaden as the flames smashed into Solaria and then Kiara who threw her hands up to block the attack. There was a mighty explosion and then dust.

"No!" panicked Simon.

"It can't be…" muttered Blaze, hopelessly.

Jaden calmed down once again and burst into evil laughter. "That was so much fun. Now she can burn in hell for all eternity."

"I wouldn't bet on that!" shouted Kiara from the dust, bruised and battered but still very much alive and battling. "Take a closer look."

Jaden looked down and saw Solaria was still spinning and was shielded by a red barrier. "What!"

"Flame Barrier!" explained Kiara. "I activated it just before the attack hit! It protected me and Solaria!"

Jaden's eyes widened with fury. "You've only delayed the inevitable!"

"We'll see!" answered Kiara. "But for now, attack Solaria!"

The bey singed, but still flaring with power, shot forward and clashed with Serpiente. Both beys were pushing their hardest, but both refused to budge.

"This is one of the most intense battles I've ever seen," Simon commented.

"Let's just hope it has a good outcome," said Max.

"Solaria!"

"Serpiente!"

The two beys pushed with al their might, but neither could overpower the other. Eventually, the two beys power cancelled each other out and were thrown back.

"That's it!" cursed Jaden. "I'm finishing this! Special Move! Serpiente's Fangs!"

The Serpent appeared once again and began to use its fangs to stab Solaria. The bey did its best to dodge the attack but the malicious beast was faster and swifter.

Kiara grimaced at the sight.

"What's wrong Queen of Order?" scoffed Jaden. "Worried about losing?"

"Never!" replied Kiara.

Jaden snorted. "Doubt it!"

Suddenly, the Serpent came down and sent its fangs straight into Solaria, causing its fusion wheel and energy ring to crack.

At the same time, Kiara screamed as she felt two invisible fangs stab her back.

Jaden's eyes widened in pleasure. "Finish this Serpiente!"

Kiara, in horror, watched as the Serpent went to stab its fangs into her bey again, when she smirked.

"She smiled?" gasped Blaze.

"What's so funny?" demanded Jaden.

"The fact that you fell into a trap," giggled Kiara.

"What?"

"Special Move!" interrupted Kiara. "Solaria Firelight Wall!"

Solaria spun faster, and in an instant, a wall of fire was surrounding the bey.

"NO!"

"Now your attack will be sent back ten times stronger!" cheered Kiara.

Jaden could only watch as the Serpent's fangs came down on the barrier. Then, jade energy erupted from the barrier and shot towards Jaden, shattering the Serpent and pounding her bey.

Jaden growled. "Chaos Move! Chaos Shield!"

A green shield shaped like the chaos crest appeared and protected Serpiente, before its shattered and the bey was bombarded with the remainder of the redirected attack.

Jaden screamed as the impact cracked her beys fusion wheel and sent her flying back into the dome.

"You've lost," declared Kiara. "Give it up."

Jaden stood up and growled before her skin turned jade and her veins popped out of her arms, face and neck. "GIVE UP? IT'S YOU WHO SHOULD GIVE UP!"

"She's using her full chaos power," said Max worryingly.

"LET THE END COME!" screamed Jaden. "CHAOS MOVE! SERPIENTE'S MISERY!"

From Serpiente, erupted an explosion of jade energy that covered the whole dome. The Serpent rose once again and its eyes glowed.

Kiara screamed as her hand began to turn to stone. "What the heck?"

Jaden smirked. "Not only are you going to turn to stone but your bey is as well!"

Jaden pointed towards Solaria as it suddenly began to stop moving and the Lioness appeared and also began to become stone.

"NO!" panicked Kiara, as her arms became stone.

"HAHAHAHA!" laughed Jaden manically. "YOUR DEAD!"

Team Nova Flare and the crowD could only watch horrorstruck as all of Kiara's body, expect her head became stone and her Lioness became a statue.

'Calm down Kiara,' she thought as she closed her eyes. 'Think. You have to think. What would Siana do in this situation.'

* * *

><p>Kiara opened her eyes and was inside a vision. She was watching the final confrontation between Siana and Minara, which ended a five year war.<p>

Minara was laughing crazily as the Serpent was prettifying the Lioness and turning its foe and Siana to stone.

"You've lost sister!" taunted Minara.

"Not as long as there's hope!" responded Siana as her entire body but her head became stone.

"Hope?" snorted Minara.

"You'll see," replied Siana as she closed her eyes and suddenly, the Lioness broke free from its stone imprisonment, as did Siana.

"What!" gasped Minara.

"Light of Solaria!" exclaimed Siana as she threw her hand into the air and a light exploded from Solaria and illuminated the field.

* * *

><p>Suddenly, Kiara was back at the battle when she called, Order Move! Light of Solaria!"<p>

The Lioness statue began to crack and break while the stone around Kiara broke away.

"Impossible!" protested Jaden.

"Nothing's impossible!" cheered Max. "Now beat her Kiara!"

"Solaria!" exclaimed Kiara as her bey beast freed itself and unleashed an orange light that enveloped the entire dome and vaporized the Serpent.

Solaria flew into the air while Serpiente was lifted off the ground.

Jaden could only watch as Kiara held her hand up and shouted, "Burn them Solaria!"

There was a storm off fire that came down with Solaria as it charged towards Serpiente and smashed into it, plowing it into the stadium with a crash and incinerating the dark bey.

Jaden was thrown back into the dome, which shattered and knocked her out.

The crowd burst into applause as Serpiente came to a stop at the bottom of the stadium and Solaria returned to Kiara.

"I did it," she said weakly as Team Nova Flare can to support her.

"You did Kiara." Max smiled at his teammate.

"You kicked her but," added Simon.

"I'll be back," said a voice.

The Team turned to see a gravely injured Jaden lying on the ground. "I'll have my revenge."

A black mist spurted from her bey and enveloped her before vanishing. The crowd was silent for a moment before Jones spoke up.

"The winner is Team Nova Flare!" announced Jones. "They move on to the grand final!"

Max thought to himself, 'That means Team Atlas verse Team Crimson next.'

He suddenly looked around in shock as everything froze, expect for himself.

"What?"

Suddenly, Artemis appeared. "Just because my team is out, doesn't mean we can't play." She grinned devilishly.

Max went to say something but didn't get the chance as Artemis vanished into a cloud of smoke and time began to move again.

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Continued in "Hunting the Huntress!" <strong>

**Even though Team King Destructors are out, there is still the threat that Artemis poses. Now, Team Nova Flare decides to hunt the Huntress and find out what happened to her. But this will lead into a deadly battle that only one person will walk away from. **

**Hoped you all enjoyed that chapter! Was it too much at once? I hope not. And I hope that Grace of Flame, who isn't with us anymore, would have enjoyed this chapter. Anyway, ****PLEASE REVIEW! ****And for those authors who need to send those descriptions in ****DO IT AS QUICK AS POSSIBLE PLEASE!**


	30. Chapter 30: Hunting the Huntress

**Glad everyone enjoyed the last chapter! And I know Team King Destructors are out, but we still need to deal with Artemis, hence the reason for this chapter. We also discover something new about the kids in the hospital and meet a new character. Anyway, ****PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!**

**SwiftTheWritingMagician: **Wow is a terrific word to describe that chapter! Thankfully it didn't turn into a disappointment considering the amount of times I rewrote it. Yes, we will get more of the history of the Yin Yang sisters as we go and other _interesting _memories as well. But that's another story. Regina's battle will probably be in chapter 32 from how I have the battles between Team Crimson and Atlas worked out. I'm also glad you think I've improved in my writing. I've come a long way from when I started.

**Alpha Dragonis: **I think I'll let you try at drawing some of the characters if I just fail at it when I try. Yes, a few mysterious were wrapped up in this chapter but more will definitely come. And not all will be solved in this season. It's also nice to know that you think I've improved in my writing.

**TheNightmareBringer: **I'm extremely glad you think Flame would have loved this! That's the main reason why I rewrote it a few times; I wanted to get it just right for her. I know how much she wanted to see the battle between Jaden and Kiara and I'm certain I delivered.

**AKA99: **You must have been really blown away by this chapter if you can't even find the words to describe it! Epic is probably a good one though. J

**Graceful Amaryllis: **Haven't seen you review for a while so it's good to see you doing it again! Yeah, the plot was starting to get confusing mainly because there is so much going on at once with the whole Dark Lord ritual and then the whole order and chaos thing. Yeah, I like using flash backs to remind us of previous chapters and keep us on track so we don't forget important things. And yes, I will keep up the good work!

**GoldenAngel99: **The chapter was deep and intense and I'm really happy to know that you loved it! They're only going to get better from here! The flashbacks were sort of setting the scene for the battle so we knew fully well what was going down between Jaden and Kiara and so we also knew why they were at each other's throats. This chapter, we discover something else about Frieda's condition and Morgan's special part will be revealed in a sneak peek at the end of the chapter!

**Now, I've been writing really long chapters lately so I'm going to write a slightly shorter chapter this time. Also, Red Phoenix10123780, ****send the info for Blaze please; I need her detailed looks, clothing and bey beast! **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 30: Hunting the Huntress <strong>

Sitting in his dark room, Zygor, without his mask, sipped his wine as he watched the battle between Kiara and Jaden.

"Light of Solaria!" he heard Kiara call from the monitor as her bey unleashed a powerful attack that not only obliterated Jaden's Serpiente's Misery, but won her the battle.

Zygor put down his glass and clapped. "Marvelous, just marvelous. Kiara proved herself to be more powerful then I thought. I tip my hat to you Ms. Summers, you shall be more important to our ritual then I thought."

Zygor put his mask on as he leaned over his desk towards the chessboard. "It would appear that the white side of the board is stronger then the Dark Lord assumed."

Zygor moved a white pawn so it knocked over a black pawn. "And now, Kiara's true powers have awakened."

He then proceeded by moving the white pawn to the end of the board. "If life is like chess, she's reached the end of the board and has been promoted to queen."

Zygor removed the piece and replaced it with a white queen. "Not that it matters. I still have a few pawns left. And the king will be captured in no time at all."

* * *

><p>Kiara cringed as the nurse pulled the needle through for the last time.<p>

"Stitches were never my thing," she commented as she then touched the bandage on her cheek and then the one on her forehead. She then glanced down at the stitches in her arm.

Max watched as the nurse put her needles and other materials into a box and placed them in a cupboard.

"When I signed on for this job," she said. "I never expected to be taking care of so many kids for such serious injuries."

"The world is a strange place," answered Simon as he sat on the bench and the nurse exited the room.

"Doesn't help that there are always whack jobs to make things harder," Blaze added as she sat next to Kiara on the empty bed next to Frieda's.

"I'm still annoyed that Artemis got the drop on me," sighed Frieda as she gazed at her bey.

"That looks new," gasped Max as he got up off his chair and moved over to Frieda's bed so he could get a better look at Ray Virgo.

"I had it repaired," explained Frieda happily. "Luckily Virgo didn't sustain any serious damage or otherwise it may never have been fixed."

"That's a sweet repair job," commented Max as he eyed the bey. "Where can I get one? Swordsman's been taking some pretty serious hits lately."

"I need one too," Kiara added as she took out her severely damaged Solaria. "Jaden's Venom Serpiente dealt some serious blows to Solaria."

"I think we all need to get our beys fixed," said Simon as he took out Gryphos.

"You can say that again," Blaze added as she took out Phoenix.

"So where'd you get the job done?" asked Max.

"I got Kenny to do it," she replied.

"Kenny?" questioned Blaze. "Is he a teacher?"

"No," interrupted Aiya who had woken from her sleep. She yawned before continuing. "Kenny's a student."

"He's a bey mechanic," Frieda said. "And he's really good."

"He does most of the bey fixing in the school," Aiya added.

"So where do we find this Kenny?" asked Max.

"Right here," interrupted a voice from behind Max.

Max jumped in fright as he spun around to face a boy about his height. He had short brown that spiked up at the front and wore big black glasses. He wore a white long sleeved shirt underneath a black vest and wore brown jeans. He also had a brown satchel bag slung across his back.

"Let me see," said the Boy as he snatched Swordsman from Max and examined it. He took out his laptop from his bag and placed it on a table before opening it.

"Flame Swordsman 100CS," he observed and began to type. "Metallic face bolt. Plastic Swordsman energy ring. Flame fusion wheel special edition with an attack motif. 100 spin track and a Coat Sharp performance tip."

The boy continued to type and a virtual image of Flame Swordsman popper up onto his laptop. "Visible ware is shown on the performance tip while there are chips in the fusion wheel and scratches on the energy ring."

He handed Swordsman back to Max and typed with both hands. "If my calculations are correct, I should be able to fix Swordsman in under…three hours."

Max was speechless. The boy decided to introduce himself. "I'm Kenny, Kenny Mojo! Bey mechanic extraordinaire!"

"You're Kenny?" said Simon.

"Yep," Kenny answered with a smile. "I'd be happy to fix all of your beys."

"That would be nice," Blaze thanked.

"What bey do you have?" asked Max.

"I don't blade," Kenny replied. "I just like to examine and fix beys. Although I do own a Ray Scorpio."

"So what do you do in bey classes?" asked Max.

Kenny adjusted his glasses. "I take a special bey mechanic class. I'm learning to become one of Japan's leading bey technicians."

"Wow," commented Simon. "You must work hard."

Kenny shrugged. "My Dad was a bey mechanic so I sort of inherited his skills."

"Can you really fix our beys in only a few hours?" questioned Kiara.

Kenny nodded. "Ever since the Nemesis Crisis, there have been many advances in bey mechanics. I've heard they're on the verge of creating new beys and new bey stadiums."

"That sounds awesome!" cheered Max. "I wonder how long it'll take to come out?"

"They expect a few years to get it right and figure out all of the statistics," explained Kenny. "There's also rumors that it involves bey stadiums that actually move."

"Shut up!" squealed Max.

Blaze shook her head. "I didn't realize he was such a fan girl."

"Come to my room," suggested Kenny. "I can fix all of your beys over there."

* * *

><p>Zygor sat in his room, the fireplace crackling with burning wood, which illuminated the room. Zygor was busy typing on his laptop when the shadow appeared on the wall above the fireplace.<p>

**"****The energy from the battle between Yin and Yang has increased my strength ten-fold! I am now much more stronger and so much more closer to regaining my full strength." **

"I knew there was something special about Jaden from the moment we met," loafed Zygor as he closed his laptop. "I couldn't believe my luck when you told me she was the Queen of Chaos. It would appear luck is on our side."

**"****Yes, luck is on our side indeed. Not only shall I take the ancient Yang power but I shall absorb the power of the Crimson Hero and take it all for myself. With it, I shall be invincible." **

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and the shadow vanished.

"Come in," growled Zygor as the doors opened to reveal Athena and Hermes.

"What is it now?" groaned Zygor.

"We brought him," answered Hermes as he threw a man to the ground. The Man was Mr. Jones.

Zygor lit up. "Oh good."

Jones stood up and brushed himself off. "What in the blazing hell is going on here?"

"I thought it was pretty obvious that my disciples here kidnapped you," snorted Zygor.

"Hahaha," spat Jones coldly. "Spare me the bad humor already."

"Oh come on," replied Zygor. "You need to stop seeing the negative in things and start seeing the positive."

"Where is the positive in this?" barked Jones.

"You get to meet new people," answered Zygor.

Athena and Hermes snickered but stopped when Zygor looked at them.

"What do you want with me?" demanded Jones.

Zygor stood up and walked over to the principal.

"I merely want to make a pact," chuckled Zygor.

"Is that why your goons attacked me and brought me here?" answered Jones.

Zygor sighed. "Did we not just establish that?"

"Who are you anyway?" asked Jones.

"I am Lord Zygor," introduced Zygor. "I am the one who shall awaken the Dark Lord and usher the world into darkness."

"You mean…" stuttered Jones. "You're a criminal mastermind like all of those who were defeated by Gingka Hagane."

"Bingo," answered Zygor. "Someone give the man a prize." He thinks for a moment. "How about I make sure you don't remember any of this ever happened and make you my puppet."

Hermes and Athena grabbed Jones and forced him to his knees.

"You won't get away with this!"

"Oh really?" Zygor snorted. "And who's going to stop me. No one knows what I'm doing. And by the time anyway with any power to stop me figures it out, it will be over."

"You monster!" roared Jones as Zygor stretched out his hand and dark energy began to flow from it into Jones. Suddenly, a look of shock crossed his face as he examined Zygor. "It can't be! You're…"

He stops as he falls to the ground unconscious.

"He won't remember anything," mussed Athena.

"Now there will be no way for anyone to stop the tournament," scoffed Zygor. "It's going to be quite the party."

* * *

><p>Max and Simon sat on Kenny's bed while Blaze and Kiara were looking out the window. Kenny was working at his desk on Team Nova Flare's beys.<p>

Kenny's room was fairly basic. He had a single person bed with white sheets placed up against the back wall. Next to the bed was a black bedside table. The walls were light blue and the floor was white shag carpet. Kenny's desk was opposite his bed and had heaps of shelves with tools and other stuff. The wall with the door had a closet and the final wall with the window had a shelf with books and posters.

"Are they done yet?" asked Max.

"Please stop asking that every five minutes," groaned Simon.

"I can't help that I'm attached to my bey!" defended Max.

"Obviously it's an obsession," pointed out Blaze.

"Hey!"

"Done!" interrupted Kenny as he stood up and held out the shiny, fixed beys.

"Wow!" cheered Max as he took back Swordsman. "He looks brand new!"

"This is one heck of a clean and fix," commented Kiara as she also took back her bey.

"I've had professional work that wasn't as good as this," said Kiara in amazement as she and Simon had their beys returned to them.

Kenny rubbed the back of his head. "It was nothing. I'm just glad I was of help. It's also good to have some company."

"What do you mean?" asked Blaze.

"I kind of have hard time making friends," revealed Kenny as he adjusted his glasses.

"We can be your friends," suggested Max as he held out his hand. "Consider yourself an honorary member of Team Nov Flare as our bey mechanic!"

Kenny smiled as he shook Max's hand. "It would be my pleasure."

"So guess that means you'll be with us for the finals," said Blaze.

"Yeah," answered Kenny. "I wonder who you'll face? Team Atlas, or Team Crimson?"

"That's right," said Max. "Those two teams need to battle. And who knows who will get injured this time."

"I've been thinking about all of this weird stuff happening," commented Kenny as he opened his laptop and revealed video footage of the battles where the bladers 'would go all evil.' "If it's all so dangerous, why doesn't anyone tell Mr. Jones to stop the tournament?"

"Hey!" Max lit up. "Why don't we go do that now?"

"I suppose it will stop anyone else from getting hurt," answered Simon as Team Nova Flare exited the room.

* * *

><p>Max knocked firmly on the door and waited for a reply.<p>

"Come in," answered Jones from inside. Max pushed open the door and entered with his team.

"What can I do for you?" asked Jones as he sat at his desk.

"We're asking you to stop the tournament," answered Kiara.

"Stop the tournament?" questioned Jones. "Why would I want to do that?"

Max and the rest of Team Nova Flare gave Jones a confused look.

"Because kids are being attacked and kids are getting possessed," replied Blaze.

Jones shrugged. "They'll be fine."

Max gasped. "You realize they've been in the medical wing ever since and Kiara needed to get stitches."

"And she's fine," said Jones, gesturing to the Queen of Order.

"That's not the point," interrupted Simon.

"The tournament shall go on," declared Jones. "Good day."

He pointed towards the door and Team Nova Flare was forced to leave.

"I was under the impression he was nice," Kenny said.

"Looks like he's a stubborn bastard," cursed Blaze.

"I don't know," replied Max. "Something tells me that Jones isn't himself."

"You think he's being manipulated?" asked Blaze.

"Maybe," Max answered.

* * *

><p>Max yawned as he shuffled through the hall and made his way towards his room.<p>

"What's the bet I'm going to have another strange vision?' mussed Max. "Maybe this time I'll see Merlin battle with a dragon. Or Hercules slay the Hydra. Or Julius Caesar get assassinated."

_"__It's no joke." _

Max, startled, spun around and attempted a karate styled kick, only to fall over.

_"__I'm going to assume you never got past the first belt." _

Max stood up and rubbed his back. "You're that voice that gave me my powers."

_"__Yes." _

"This is the first time you're communicated with me outside of a battle," observed Max.

_"__Because your powers are increasing, so is my ability to communicate with me." _

Max thought for a moment. "What are you exactly?"

_"__Does it matter?" _

"I would think so," answered the Flame Swordsman blader.

_"__Alright then, I can't give you all the details right now. But I am the Crimson Hero." _

"The Crimson Hero!" Max cried as he remember hearing the name elsewhere. "Kiara mentioned and it and so did that Advisor guy from my vision! You saved the world!"

_"__Yes, yes I did." _

"Then how are you here exactly?" questioned Max. "Aren't you supposed to be have been dead for millions of years or something?"

_In one way I am dead, but in another I'm still alive." _

"You mean you're immortal?"

_"__I suppose in a way I am. But really, I'm connected to your bey."_

Max took out Flame Swordsman and gazed at it. "You're apart of Flame Swordsman? How did that happen?"

_"__That's another story for another time." _

"Can't you tell me now?" There was no reply however.

Max sighed. "I cannot catch a break."

As he came to his door, he noticed an envelope slipped halfway underneath it.

"What now," groaned Max as he picked it up and opened it.

**_Hello Max. I have your precious friends with me. Every single one of them. Even that little prick you only met today. Come to the oval, or they'll never see the light of day again. _**

**_Artemis Sakura. _**

Max's eyes widened as he read the letter. He then growled and scrunched it up in his hand before bolting down the hall.

* * *

><p>As Max arrived at the oval, with the only light coming from the moon, he noticed Artemis standing in the center with his friends all tied up.<p>

"Artemis!" growled Max as he approached them. "How dare you!"

Artemis smirked and folded her arms. "I told you we still had to settle this!"

"Leave them out of this!" demanded Max as he eyed his friends who he realized were tied up with shadows.

"Don't worry," grinned Artemis. "I have nothing against them. I just needed to threaten them so you'd show up."

Max threw his arm out. "You sick bastard!"

"Oh," Artemis smirked devilishly. "I believe I hit a chord."

"Cut the crap!" snapped Max. "Let's settle this once and for all!"

"Your funeral," spat Artemis as she clicker her fingers and the shadows around Team Nova Flare recoiled. They immediately ran over to Max.

"That whack job jumped all of us!" cursed Blaze.

"You sure know who to make enemies with," commented Kenny.

Max gazed angrily at Artemis as he took out his launcher.

"Let's get this show on the road!" declared Artemis as she threw her launcher up and caught it.

"I'm gonna crush you!" growled Max as he attached Swordsman.

"I beg to differ!" retorted Artemis as she readied her Huntress.

"Looks like a battle with no arena," commented Kiara.

"Look again," answered Artemis as the shadows from the ground rose up and created a giant bey stadium.

"Now then," chuckled Artemis as her right eye bulged. "Shall we dance?"

"Let's!" retorted Max.

"Three!" cried Artemis.

"Two!" added Max.

"One!" finished Team Nova Flare.

"Let It Rip!"

Swordsman and Huntress shot from their respective launchers and landed in the shadow field where they began to spin.

"You kidnapped my friends!" Max growled. "I'm going all out right from the start!"

"I'm so scared!" snorted Artemis sarcastically. "I'm shaking in my boots!"

"You should be scared!" Max angrily rebutted. "Cut them down to size Swordsman!"

The fiery bey shot forward and smashed into Huntress, sending the bey hurtling through the air before landing on the other side of the arena.

"Again!" commanded Max as he threw his hand out. "Knock them out of the arena!"

Swordsman bolted forward, not letting Huntress regain its balance and smacked it, sending it spiraling away.

"Barrage Attack!" cried Max as Swordsman began striking the opposing bey swiftly and continuously.

Kenny opened up his laptop and began to examine the battle.

"Interesting," he said. "Swordsman's dishing out a lot of damage but Huntress is still holding most of its stamina."

"How?" questioned Simon.

"I'm not sure," answered Kenny as he scratched his head in confusion. "From my calculations, Huntress should be down by half of its energy. Those attacks should have been able to penetrate Huntress' defense. It appears her 'creepy' powers are powering up her bey."

"Max is at a disadvantage already," cursed Blaze.

"That's some strategy you got there!" spat Artemis. "It appears to be working well for you!"

Max groaned in response. 'Why are none of my attacks getting through. Maybe I need to take a different approach,' he thought.

"Charge up some power Swordsman!" ordered Max as his bey began to circle the arena at high speeds.

"Oh," grinned Artemis. "Here we go. Now things get interesting."

Swordsman glowed red and then exploded into flames as it continued to power up.

"Special Move!" roared Max. "Flame Sword Slash!"

The iconic Red Knight appeared with his flaming sword. He then swung it towards Huntress and slashed it.

"How do you like them apples?" cheered Max.

Artemis just laughed. "Don't count your chickens before they've hatched."

Max gasped as he saw that Huntress was completely unfazed by The Knight's attack.

"How the-"

"Hit them Huntress!" butted in Artemis as her bey unleashed a shockwave of dark energy that shattered the Knight and sent Swordsman flying back.

"Shit!" cursed Max.

"This is not good," commented Kenny as he examined his laptop. "That dark energy is increasing Huntress' attack, defense and stamina exponentially. Swordsman is now the weaker bey here."

"This is not developing well for Max," groaned Kiara.

'I can't believe I'm losing this,' thought Max. 'If I don't do something soon she's going to pulverize me and Swordsman! I better think of something quick!'

"What's the matter Smithy?" mocked Artemis. "Running out of silly ideas to win?"

Max gritted his teeth in response. "I have the ultimate strategy to beat you!"

"Really?"

"You bet!" answered Max. "Just wait and see!"

"Alright then," snickered Artemis as she folded her arms. "Humor me."

Huntress suddenly stopped radiating the dark shockwave and moved to the center of the arena.

"Is she trying to lose now?" questioned Kiara. "She's a siting duck out there."

"I have a feeling she wants Max to attack her," added Simon.

"Here we go again Swordsman!" called out Max as his bey set itself ablaze.

'That's right Prince of Fire,' thought Artemis. 'Attack me. Every time you do I just get stronger.'

"Swordsman!" cried Max. "Flame Sword Slash!"

The Red Knight appeared and began slashing Huntress with its blade, breaking part of the arena in the process.

Next, the flaming Swordsman smashed into Huntress, sending sparks flying.

"You fool!" laughed Artemis. "You think you can beat the Huntress this way?"

"Yeah!" retorted Max. "So what?"

"So this!" answered Artemis as dark energy began to flow from her. Huntress suddenly knocked Swordsman away and extinguished the flames with shadows.

"What's going on!" growled Max. "Why aren't my attacks getting through?"

"You know of the legendary L-Drago don't you?" snickered Artemis.

"Who doesn't," answered Max, more calmly this time.

"L-Drago," explained Artemis. "Was a legendary bey. Even after the dark power was extinguished from it, it had the ability to absorb the opponents spin power."

Team Nova Flare gasped and Kenny typed on his laptop.

"The dark energy," he gulped. "Its fuelling Huntress with the power to steal Swordsman's spin."

"That's a dirty trick!" Max commented.

"But it works doesn't it?" snorted Artemis. "My master has given me the power to mimic that of L-Drago."

"Shoot," cursed Blaze. "L-Drago was such a powerful bey, and if Artemis is copying its power, does Max stand a chance?"

"But if he loses," answered Kiara. "Then Artemis will…"

"Let's try not to think about that," interrupted Simon.

Artemis laughed devilishly. "End of the line Smithy," she snorted.

"If I have to beat the power of L-Dragon," responded Max. "Then I'll beat it just like Gingka did!"

"Really?" loafed Artemis. "You're no Gingka Hagane."

Max nodded and closed his eyes. "You're right. I'm no Gingka Hagane. Heck, I doubt I'm anywhere near as great as him. But I was at Battle Bladers. I watched Gingka defy all odds and smash L-Drago and defeat the Dragon Emperor! If I learnt anything from that day, its that beyblade isn't about power! It's about spirit!" Max opened his eyes and roared, surrounding himself with red aura and lighting up his crest.

"Spirit?" spat Artemis. "You make me want to barf!"

"Then you're definitely not going to like this!" retorted Max. "Charge Swordsman!"

Swordsman ignited with flames and rushed forward, heading towards Huntress.

"You think you can break through the dark barrier!" laughed Artemis as dark aura surrounded her bey and blocked Swordsman.

"That won't stop me!" roared Max. "Push through!"

Swordsman exploded into flames and smashed through the barrier where it clashed with Huntress.

"What the fu-"

Artemis was interrupted however as a part of Huntress was broken off by Swordsman, and the dark bey was thrown back.

"Where did that sudden burst of power come from?" questioned Simon.

Kenny typed on his laptop. "I have no idea. Swordsman has suddenly gained attack and defense from thin air."

"How dare you damage my bey!" cursed Artemis. "You'll regret that!"

"Then it looks like I'm going to regret this too!" shouted Max as he threw his hand into the air. "Special Move! Flame Sword Slash!"

The Knight in red armour appeared and began furiously slashing at Huntress, sending cracks all over the bey and also causing slash marks to appear on Artemis.

"You bitch!" she screamed as she fell to her knees in pain. "I'm going to kill you and your friends when I beat you!"

"No it if I have anything to say about it!" responded Max.

"You don't have anything to say about it!" screamed Artemis as dark energy exploded from her. "Special Move! Rage of the Hunt!"

From Huntress appeared two dark arms composed of shadows with vicious looking claws.

Max gulped. "This doesn't look good."

Artemis' right eye bulged and she smirked sinisterly. "Sink into deepest darkness."

The claws, quick as a flash, shot forward and slashed at the Knight, shattering it before slashing Swordsman.

Max screamed as a deep slash mark wounds appeared across his chest.

"Again!" commanded Artemis as the claws struck once more, injuring Max again as well.

"She's killing him!" cried Kiara in horror.

"Who's laughing now Smithy!" scoffed Artemis.

Max chuckled. "Me."

"What?"

"Special Move!" exclaimed Max as he stood up and ignored the stinging pain in his chest. "Flame Spiral!"

The Red Knight appeared suddenly and aimed its sword at the dark arms before unleashing a spinning stream of fire that vaporized them.

Artemis screamed as the fire continued and smashed into her.

"What a move!" cheered Kenny. "Now Max is back in the lead."

Suddenly, the flames around Artemis were extinguished and she roared furiously.

"How dare you strike me!" she exclaimed. "I will make sure you never see the light of day again!"

"Bring it on!" challenged Max.

"Nightmare Mode!" erupted Artemis as her bey's energy ring turned purple.

"That supposed to scare me?" asked Max.

Artemis waved her finger. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Just you wait Smithy. I'm going to make your life a living hell!"

Max didn't respond.

"Special Move!" cried Artemis. "Nightmare Arrow!"

A female hunter wearing silver clothes welding a bow and arrow appeared. However, as she appeared, her clothes changed to the colour purple and her eyes glowed red.

"Oh boy," muttered Max.

"DESTROY THEM!" roared Artemis as the Hunter fired a dark pulsing arrow that shattered the Knight and kept going towards max. He did have time to react and the arrow ripped through his stomach.

Max screamed, and his team all gasped in horror. The arrow hadn't even gone the whole way through, and was hanging out of Max's abdomen.

Max went to say something, but blood leaked from his mouth and he fell to his knees.

Artemis smirked. "Now strike!"

Huntress sped forward and smashed into Swordsman, which went spinning out of control. At the same time, a shadow appeared in front of Max and slashed his throat.

Max coughed and spluttered up blood as the arrow shattered and clouded Max in black smoke before he fell to the ground. His blood from his arrow wound leaked out around him so that he was lying in his own blood.

"NO!" screamed Blaze, horror struck.

Kenny, Kiara and Simon were too shocked to say anything.

"Sorry boys and girls," grinned Artemis devilishly. "But this just became R rated. And Smithy isn't going to be getting up anytime soon."

"You monster!" roared Simon, infuriated.

Suddenly, Max's crest lit up and created a pillar of red light.

"What?" gasped Artemis as she blinded by the light.

The energy picked up Max and placed him back on his feet as his wounds magically healed.

"What the fuck is going on!" cursed Artemis in confusion.

"You're about to get your but kicked that's what!" answered Max as he opened his eyes. "Special Move! Phoenix Fury!"

The Red Knight again appeared and held up his sword. Bursting from the sword was the flaming Phoenix, which let out a screech before flying into the air.

"Shoot it down!" barked Artemis as she pointed at the Phoenix.

The Hunter appeared and took aim at the bird with its arrow before shooting.

"Not this time!" Max exclaimed as the Phoenix dodged the arrow and flew into the Hunter, incinerating her.

Artemis growled as the flames then shot at her and burnt her.

"You're really pissing me off now!" roared Artemis.

"Good!" Max grinned. "Special Move! Salamander Fury!"

This time, a flaming Salamander burst from the Knight's sword and flew into the air.

Artemis groaned as the serpent shot downwards and crashed into Huntress, incinerating it and burning Artemis in the process.

"ENOUGH!" erupted Artemis in fury. "YOU'RE GOING TO DIE!"

She then held out her arms and two dark balls of energy appeared in her hands.

"This is it," thought Max as he scrunched up his fists and eyed his foe fiercely.

"DARK MOVE!" exclaimed Artemis. "ARROW STORM OF THE ABYSS!"

Artemis threw the energy balls into her bey and it lit up with power. The Hunter appeared and drew many arrows but fired them into the arena, creating an abyss.

"What?" gasped Max.

Artemis smirked. "THE END HAS COME SMITHY!"

From the abyss, exploded dark energy, which swirled out of it and formed a shadowlike demon with blood red eyes.

"And I thought roller coasters were scary," yelped Kenny in fear.

Artemis grinned as the Shadow Demon let out an earsplitting roar before attempting to slash at Swordsman.

"Move!" ordered Max as his bey dodged to the side, letting the Demon's hand smash into the arena.

"This isn't good," commented Kenny as he examined his laptop.

"Why's that?" asked Simon, knowing well what the answer was.

"If my calculations are correct," Kenny gulped. "That Demon only has to hit Swordsman once to inflict enough damage to win the match."

"Max!" cried Kiara.

"I know!" answered the Swordsman blader as his bey dodged another of the Demon's attacks.

"You can run but you can't hide!" Artemis spat.

"True," Max replied as his bey stopped moving.

"What is he doing?" asked Blaze. "He's going to get hit by the Demon!"

"Nighty, night Smithy!" laughed Artemis as the Demon came upon Swordsman.

"I beg to differ!" Max retorted as he held up his arm and his crest glowed. "Fusion Move! Chimera Fury!"

The flaming Salamander and Phoenix appeared before merging together to create the powerful and almighty flaming Chimera.

"It makes no difference!" snapped Artemis as she threw her arm out.

"Oh but it does!" exclaimed Max as he pointed at the sky. "I'm going to beat you and destroy the darkness in your heart!"

As the Demon came upon the Chimera, it roared and unleashed a fiery stream that ripped through the Demon's chest. It then flew into the air and turned into a fiery stream that shot down and blasted apart the Demon.

"NO!" screamed Artemis in torment as the Demon was vanquished and the attack continued on to hit her bey.

"Beyblade has nothing to do with power or winning!" declared Max. "It's about giving it your all and forging bonds with your bey and your opponent! I'm going to save you Artemis!"

"Go Max!" cheered all of Team Nova Flare as Max's attack illuminated the night sky.

"Swordsman!" roared Max as the fiery bey rushed forward and smashed into Huntress, sending sparks flying.

Artemis could only watch as the fire from the attack blasted away all of the shadows surrounding her and her bey.

"Finish it!" exclaimed Max as Swordsman knocked Huntress out of the arena and the flames literally blasted the arena to pieces.

Artemis fell to her knees in defeat and hung her head.

Max burst into cheer, as did Team Nova Flare as Swordsman returned to Max.

Max sighed with relief as his Team ran to him.

"That was awesome!" cheered Simon.

"I was doubting you for a moment," added Blaze.

"Hey!" snapped Max.

"So was I," added Kiara.

Max groaned in annoyance.

"How did your wounds heal?" asked Kenny in amazement.

"I have no idea," replied Max as he looked at the rips in his shirt but no injuries.

_"__No need to thank me." _

Max let out a small smile before turning to face Artemis.

"Max," she said. "Thank you."

"She's not evil anymore," commented Kiara.

"This is only the start," Artemis continued. "He's here. He's possessing bladers and taking them under control. Just like he did to me."

"Who?" asked Max.

"Nemesis' Heir," answered Artemis.

Team Nova Flare gasped.

"Nemesis has an heir," stuttered Simon, fearfully.

"Beware Zygor," said Artemis before falling to the ground, unconscious.

"This just got serious," commented Max.

* * *

><p><em>-The Infirmary- <em>

Everyone was asleep, besides Aiya as she typed on her laptop. She sighed as gazed over at the clock on the wall. It was late. She had been up all night catching up on the work she missed while she had been injured. She glanced down at her wrist, where black dots had begun to appear. She shivered and closed her laptop.

Suddenly, Frieda let out a scream and began to thrash violently.

"Frieda!" cried Aiya in horror as the nurse dashed into the room and turned on the light, awakening Linh and Taylor.

"Oh my god," gasped Aiya as the nurse strapped Frieda down to the bed to stop her violent fit. Frieda's eyes weren't even open, but she was screaming.

"What's happening?" asked Taylor.

"She's having a fit," answered the nurse as she finished strapping Frieda down.

Suddenly, Frieda stopped moving and stopped screaming.

"Oh no." the Nurse put her hand to her mouth before speaking. "I think she's…"

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Continued: Cliffhanger! We'll find out what happened to Frieda next chapter. But did anyone find it strange that this happens just as Artemis, the one who attacked her, is defeated? Anyway, <strong>**PLEASE! PRETTY PLEASE REVIEW! AND CHECK OUT THE EPIC SNEAK PEEK FOR NEXT CHAPTER! **

**Next Time-Chapter 31: Friends Till the End **

**Team Atlas and Team Crimson come together to decide who is stronger and who will face Nova Flare in the finals! Morgan steps up to play, and Carlos opposes him, resolving to save his dearest friend. Now, the academy watches as two friends battle it out in a life threatening match! Will Carlos free Morgan from the darkness that has plagued his heart, or will Morgan destroy his last connection to his old self and pound Carlos into the ground. It's friend against friend! Bro against bro! Wolf against Scorpio! They promised to be friends till the end, but will they be friends after the end? **


	31. Chapter 31: Friends Till The End

**Wow, so many reviews! Thank you all for reading and reviewing! We now begin the second semifinal round and watch as Carlos and Morgan, two best friends, battle it out. We also find out what's happened to Frieda. And something's happened to Artemis as well. I took a short break from writing while I began to read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I've read it before but it's just that good of a book. It's also given me some inspiration. Adding to that, the new TV show Gotham has started and I'm hooked! Plus, the final Skulduggery Pleasant book came out and I was so excited that I read it all in two days! **

**GoldenAngel999: **There isn't really any other way to put it besides wow. I made it a cliffhanger because I didn't want too much happening in the chapter. But we will find out something new to Frieda's condition this chapter! And Max and Artemis' battle was intense wasn't it! Max was critically injured in that battle and he got back up and fought on! It will get more interesting from here on out.

**TheNightmareBringer: **I thought Artemis had been possessed long enough so it was time someone saved her. And epic was what I was going for!

**RedPhoenix10123780: **Don't worry too much about the info; it's not that big of a deal. I forget stuff all the time. I still hope you can send the rest of it in soon though. Also, its good to see you reviewing because I haven't seen you do it for a while. Yes, that chapter was awesome wasn't it?

**Bristleclaw: ***Tears up* It's so nice for you to think I'm the best author at writing bey battles you know. It makes me feel so much better as an author. Intense was my main goal with this chapter, and it's good to know that I got the suspense thing right and had you on the edge of your seat.

**Gingercookiessnaps: **No worries, school comes first, unfortunately. Just review when you have the time. It makes me happy to know you immensely enjoy my story and that you enjoy it so much! Yes, next arch delves more into the mystery of the Dark Lord's plot. It will involve action, adventure, mystery, horror, and probably swearing and an overtone of dark themes. That's what to expect in the 'Chaotic Order' arc, which is about five to six chapters away I'd say.

**Graceful Amaryllis: **That's fine if you can't find the time to review. Just try to when you can. I'm glad to know you thought the battle was written well and that you enjoyed it.

**Alpha Dragonis: **Yeah, cliffhangers can be very annoying. But I haven't done that many in this story, which is why I'm sort of doing it now. But at the same time, they do make you want to read the next chapter more. Once again, I'm happy you think I've improved as a writer.

**MarsTwilight: **Wow, a good word to describe the chapter. Its makes me feel so glad that your heart was pounding as you read this chapter and thought I did an excellent job.

**AKA99: **Beyond epic? You think it was beyond epic! I could cry right now if that's how good you think that chapter and this story is. Thank you for that comment.

**Turtleswift11: **I couldn't keep Artemis evil forever! Also, it was needed to keep the story flowing. Anyway, for this chapter she will be referred to as Artemis, but in all later chapters she will be referred to as Mitzuki because her real name will be revealed. I didn't do it in this chapter because I couldn't find a way to add it in without it sounding forced. Glad you like the plot and I hope you keep reviewing!

* * *

><p>Its time for the chapter, and remember once you're done, <span><strong>PLEASE REVIEW! <strong>I'm hoping to get to 300 reviews by the time this story is finished. Also, did anyone notice the Shogun Steel (Zero-G) reference in the previous chapter? I wonder if anyone could spot it? Anyway, here is the chapter, hope you all enjoy it and love it like all the rest! :)

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 31: Friends Till The End <strong>

"She's not moving," said Kenny as Artemis' body lay still on the ground, her bey lying next to her all singed. There was a light breeze that moved her hair slightly but otherwise, her body was completely still.

"Artemis!" called out Max. Artemis still didn't move. There was tension in the air and he gulped nervously.

"You don't think she's...?" said Kiara, her eyes widening.

"Let's not jump to conclusions," interrupted Blaze, but there was uncertainty in her voice as well.

Max slowly and steadily walked towards Artemis' limb body. He had to be cautious. For all he knew, Artemis may still be possessed and was trying to trick him. When he was right at her body, Max bent down and poked her lightly. Artemis didn't move.

"Artemis," Max spoke. "It's Max. Are you okay?"

She didn't reply or move for that matter.

Max frowned and placed his hand on her neck so he could check her pulse. Max gasped as he took his hand away and stood up. A look of horror tore across his face.

"What?" asked Kiara, breaking the silence.

"She's…" stuttered Max in shock. "She's…dead."

Team Nova Flare gasped in response. Kiara fell to her knees in shock and Simon comforted her. Blaze stood in one spot, frozen by the traumatic scene. Kenny however, had a puzzled look on his face and approached Artemis while Max fell to his knees and punched the ground.

"I can't believe it," he cursed as he pounded the hard ground. "I killed her…my attack killed her…I didn't…mean…I was trying...to save her."

As Kenny made it to Artemis' body, he bent down and adjusted his glasses. He placed his hand on Artemis' neck and sighed.

"She's alive," stated Kenny with relief.

"What?" questioned Simon as the rest of the Team made their way over to Artemis.

Kenny smacked Max across the head in reply. "Lame brain here can't read a pulse properly."

"Ow!" Max hissed in pain as he clutched his head. "It was a mistake."

"You made us believe that you killed her," answered Kiara in anger.

"Still," interrupted Simon. "Why doesn't she wake up?"

Kenny frowned in response and thought for a moment. "I have no idea. Maybe the shock from losing caused her to faint. Or maybe the force of the attack knocked her out."

"I think we better get her to the medical wing," advised Blaze as Simon and Max picked up Artemis and headed for the medical wing while Kiara picked up Huntress off of the ground.

* * *

><p>Lord Zygor sat at his desk, with the only light in the room being the moon, which shone through he window.<p>

The shadow was lying on the floor, apparently in a conversation with Zygor. It was in the middle of talking when it paused.

"Something wrong?" asked Zygor as he leaned forward in his chair.

**"****Artemis has been defeated by the Prince of Fire." **

There was much anger in the shadows voice and he seemed disappointed Artemis had lost.

"What a pity," shrugged Zygor as he turned to his chessboard. "We even gave her the power of the mighty L-Dragon himself yet she still couldn't take down that weakling."

**"****That weakling defeated your disciples Athena and Hermes, did it not?" **

"Forgive me my lord," apologized Zygor with a small bow.

**"****Apology accepted…. for now." **

"Thank you Master," answered Zygor as he bowed again and then moved the white king so that it knocked over one of his black pawns.

**"****Who is next in line to play? What battle should I be looking forward too?"**

"Morgan Blue Robinson Abyss," Zygor replied. "And I'm hoping his friend Carlos Zepeda Jones will face him. It would make a splendid show indeed. Seeing Carlos fight to save his friend and fail will be hilarious and certainly entertaining. Don't you agree Master?"

**"****Oh I agree alright. Watching Carlos try to save his pitiful friendship will be amusing to watch indeed. Morgan will show his 'friend' why friendship doesn't exist."**

* * *

><p>Max and Simon ran as fast as they could as they held Artemis. She was still unconscious and they had no idea what kind of condition she was in.<p>

Kenny, Blaze and Artemis were behind them, running as well to keep up with the boys.

"I wonder what's wrong with her?" asked Max. "Do you think my attack caused this?" There was clear guilt in Max's voice.

"I doubt it," Kenny reassured. "It most likely has something to do with that dark power she was using."

Max lowered his head. "I hope."

As they came into the medical wing, they noticed everyone was awake and were crowded around Frieda's bed. They were on their knees, had their heads down and appeared to be praying.

"Huh?" questioned Kiara.

"What's going on?" added Simon.

The Nurse, who was also at the bed looked up to see Team Nova Flare and had a sad expression on her face.

"It's Frieda," she said sadly.

"What happened?" asked Blaze.

"She's…" she didn't seem able to get the words out.

The worst thing possible flooded Nova Flare's minds.

"She's in a coma," the Nurse finally finished.

Max breathed a sigh of relief as they looked over Frieda who slept peacefully. Her skin had now become completely covered in black dots and looked sinister even. It still came as a shock however.

"She had a seizure," explained Aiya. "It came out of nowhere and then she…" She stopped, unable to continue until she noticed Artemis.

"What happened to Artemis?" she asked.

"We battled," answered Max. "I bet her, but now she's like this."

The Nurse ushered them over to a spare bed and they carefully placed her down. The Nurse quickly brought over a contraption and strapped a drip to her right arm, which began to leak water into her blood stream. The Nurse frowned as she felt Artemis' forehead and then checked her pulse. Team Nova Flare could only watch as the Nurse went over to a sink and wet a cloth. She came back and placed it across the Huntress blader's head.

"How is she?" asked Max quietly.

The Nurse had a sad expression on her face that remained unchanged since she was tending to Frieda. Max noticed this, as did Blaze. They looked at each other and knew something was wrong.

"Well?" asked Blaze, nearly forcing the words from her mouth. She didn't want to know what had happened. She knew the team didn't want to know. And as she gazed over to the kids crowded around Frieda's bed, she knew they didn't want to know either.

The Nurse walked over to a chair and sat down. She began to cry. The stress was getting to her. Max could only feel sorry for her. She was probably overwhelmed by all this strange stuff happening. He was too.

"What is it?" he asked quietly. His voice lacked its usual happiness. His eyes lacked their usual brightness.

The Nurse looked up and muttered a few words. Max assumed she was swearing. "She's fallen into a coma as well…"

"What?" Kenny's voice had a mix of sadness and anger in it.

"I can't believe this," stated Simon as he hung his head. "First they're getting attacked and now they're falling into comas. This just isn't right." He angry slammed his fist down on the bench and gritted his teeth.

Kiara cursed silently to herself and Blaze sat down with her hands on her head in distress.

Max looked over to Artemis, lying still in her bed. He then looked over to Frieda and back again. That was when something sparked. An idea. A thought. A connection.

"Why?" were the words that left Max Smith's mouth. It caught everyone's attention.

"What?" replied Kiara.

"Why did both of them fall into comas?" continued Max as he walked into the center of the room and pointed to Artemis and Frieda.

"We don't know," answered Taylor from beside Frieda's bed.

"Artemis attacked Frieda yeah?" Max pointed out. Everyone nodded. "So don't you think its strange that the moment Artemis was defeated Frieda falls into a coma and then Artemis follows?"

Everyone exchanged glances and thought about it.

"Surprisingly," Blaze observed. "You're right."

"There must be some kind of connection between them," added Kenny. "Perhaps Artemis losing her dark power destabilized Frieda's condition."

"Then why did Artemis collapse?" asked Linh from beside Taylor.

"Maybe because she lost her dark powers," answered Max. "If I've learnt anything from battling all of these strange people its that you can't have an enormous power without strain."

Max thought back to moments when he noticed certain power causing pain rather then helping those who wielded it.

* * *

><p><em>"<em>_No!" exclaimed Hermes. "I won't lose!"_

_Hermes held up his right hand and his crest glowed blue. _

_"__Stop Hermes!" warned Athena. "Stop!" she called out again as blue markings appeared all over Hermes body. _

_"__It's too late," replied Hermes as the markings glowed. "I'm losing control!"_

_"__Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" he screamed as he fell to his knees in pain. _

_Athena held up her right hand and her crest glowed. Red markings appeared all over her body and she cried out in pain as well. _

_"__Hermes!" called out Athena. _

_"__Athena!" called out Hermes. _

_The two held up their crests to each other and there was an explosion of light that blinded Max. _

* * *

><p><em>Regina turned to face Morgan, and held out her hand, in a single moment, dark energy shot out of her fingertips and hit Morgan.<em>

_In that moment, the lights in the stadium went out and it went extremely cold and silent as well. _

_Morgan's screams were the only thing that could be heard as the dark energy picked him up and forced its way inside him through his mouth, eyes and nose. It was a horrific sight as his veins went pitch black and he twitched and screamed non-stop. _

_Then all of a sudden, there was an ear piercing SNAP! And Morgan was lowered to the grand. _

_Taylor and Linh's eyes were wide open in horror, and neither dared move. _

_Morgan suddenly smiled, and opened his eyes to reveal nothing but the colour black. _

* * *

><p>"So when she lost and you extinguished the dark power from her," stated Simon.<p>

"The stress from using the power hit her all at once and ushered her into a coma," finished Max.

"But that means if you defeat the people who attacked us," Aiya spoke. "Does that mean we'll fall into comas."

Max with saddened eyes looked over to Aiya. He didn't know what to say. He wanted to say something happy, to assure her they would be fine. That Frieda and Artemis would wake up any moment. But he knew it would be a lie.

Aiya saw what Max was thinking through his dim eyes. "That's what I thought."

"Aiya," Max said as he walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I don't know what will happen if we do beat them. Something entirely different could happen. I don't know. But I do know they have to be stopped. Them and the ones who made them the way they are. That's the thing with war. Casualties are what make a war, war. Sometimes the only way to win is to make sacrifices. Because despite what some people think, you don't always have a choice."

Aiya began to tear up and wiped her face. "Thank you Max."

"You remind me of Gingka Hagane," commented Linh. "You have a heart just like he does."

For the first time since his battle with Artemis, Max smiled. "Thanks."

"Team Crimson and Team Atlas will be battling," stated Simon. "That means Morgan and Regina will be battling."

"Morgan…Regina…" Max whispered to himself, memories of the two while possessed flooded through his mind.

* * *

><p><em>Dark energy shot from the hole the stinger had made like a bullet and began slashing as Quetzalcoatl, smashing off its parts and leaving the deepest scars. <em>

_"__Stop!" begged Taylor. "Please stop!"_

_"__Never!" barked Morgan gruesomely as the dark energy slashed Taylor across the chest and his legs before throwing him against the wall and then pounding his bey straight into the ground. _

_"__My turn!" chuckled Regina as she set her sights on the petrified Linh. "Dark move! Pitch-Black Chaotic Attack!"_

_The black lady appeared and sprouted wings of darkness, in a single moment; darkness spread across the arena and plunged Archangel into the ground. Then, the darkness picked up Linh, and plowed her into the ground with a sickening crunch. _

_Everyone just watched horror struck, unable to say anything. Morgan and Regina recalled their beys and walked off, laughing as they did it._

* * *

><p><em>"<em>_End this Atlanta!" roared Regina as the woman with wings appeared and smashed the bottom of the stadium and created an explosion of dark energy. _

_Linh cried out as the explosion sent her flying into the back wall and the same went for her bey._

_Regina gave a twisted smile before roaring, "Dark move!"_

_Regina gathered a ball of dark energy in her hands and her eyes went pitch black. She then threw the ball of energy at her bey and it radiated with dark lightning._

_"__Pitch Black Chaotic Attack!" she spat manically. . _

_The Woman sprouted wings of dark energy before covering the arena in darkness. _

_Aiya watched as her worst fears came to life in front of her. This time, she really did cry._

_The lights in the stadium dimmed and it went cold. Everyone was silent. _

_"__Hahahahahahahahhahahaha!" laughed Regina. "End this Atlanta!"_

_A dark bolt of lightning appeared and struck Arachne with a crash. _

_Aiya cried out as she was flung back from the impact and her bey was smashed into the ground._

"I guess we'll have to hope Team Atlas can defeated Team Crimson," Kenny said.

* * *

><p>Max nodded yet looked uneasy. "But I think they're going to need more than hope to win."<p>

* * *

><p>With the arena now repaired from Kiara and Jaden's battle, the students entered the stadium and took their seats. Many had questioned the continuation of the tournament, but Mr. Jones refused to cancel it.<p>

Team Nova Flare took their seats and Max seemed the least pleased to be there. His teammates noticed this.

"What's wrong?" asked Blaze.

"This tournament," replied Max.

"There's nothing we can do about it," Kenny answered. "We tried to tell Mr. Jones but something is wrong with him. We just need to hope things will sort themselves out in the end."

"That's the thing," Max said gravely. "What if things don't blow over?"

No one replied and that's because no one wanted to think about the alternative. What if all else failed? What would happen then?

"Let's just watch the match," suggested Simon in an attempt to get everyone's minds of everything. But considering the battle that was about to take place, Simon would only regret it.

"Now for the second semi-final round!" announced Jones from his special box. "Team Atlas shall face Team Crimson for the right to challenge Team Nova Flare in the grand finale to prove which dorm is superior!"

The crowd burst into applause.

"Now introducing the two teams Team Atlas and Team Crimson!" continued Jones.

The two teams entered the arena, although Unmei was not present as usual leaving only Morgan and Regina.

"Now will Team Crimson select a blader!" stated Jones.

There was no discussion, Morgan with a blank expression stepped up to the bey arena.

"And now who will step up to face Morgan?" asked Jones.

Carlos took a deep breathe before walking over to the arena and faced his best friend.

"Morgan," said Carlos.

"Carlos," spat Morgan in annoyance as he crossed him arms. "What do you want?"

Morgan's words stung and Carlos seemed hurt. He wasn't sure what to say either.

"What's the matter?" asked Morgan as he tilted his head and snickered. "Aren't you happy to see your best friend?"

Carlos gritted his teeth and bundled up his fists. "You're not Morgan."

"Really?" Morgan raised an eyebrow.

"Morgan is a kind and nice person," answered Carlos coldly. "He's fun and loyal. Not like you. He doesn't torture people for fun nor does he see bey blading as a reason to toy with his opponents and attack them. No, Morgan is my dearest friend and frankly you're not him!" Carlos pointed at Morgan. "You're an imposter! You're not the real Morgan and I'm going to beat you to get him back!"

In a swift movement, Carlos took out his launcher and attached Wolf.

Morgan simply laughed. "You always did piss me off."

Carlos growled in response.

"You say I'm your friend but you're wrong," Morgan continued as his hand twitched. "And I'm going to beat you to prove that!"

Morgan took out his launcher and attached Scorpion before continuing. "You're about to see the new and improved Morgan! And I'm going to cast off the remainders of my past self by any means necessary!"

Carlos knew very well what he meant. Morgan wanted to get rid of him for good to make sure everything that was apart of what he once was, was gone.

"This isn't going to be pretty," sighed Max in annoyance.

"We promised we'd be friends till the end," stated Carlos as he looked at Morgan's eyes. "It looks like the end is here."

Morgan smirked and shrugged. "I guess it is."

Carlos had one good look at Morgan, because he knew very well this might be his last battle due to what Morgan was capable of.

"Morgan," he said quietly. "I just want you to know, that if I fail, I will always remember you, and I hope even if you hate me or never think of me again, that deep down you will always see me as your best friend."

Morgan's evil eyes appeared to change for split second back to their original, and in that moment, Carlos was sure he could see the face of his friend smiling at him.

"Enough!" snapped Morgan. "Let's begin!"

Carlos nodded sadly in reply. "It appears there's no other way!"

"Three!" cried Morgan.

"Two!" added the crowd.

"One!" finished Carlos.

"Let It Rip!"

Scorpion and Wolf sprung from their respective launchers and spun into the arena.

"Get ready Wolf," whispered Carlos to his bey. "This will be our toughest battle yet."

"Praying to God for help?" questioned Morgan with a twisted smirk. "Or are you silently praying for a merciful end."

Carlos growled in anger. "No! I'm praying for your defeat!"

"Big mistake!" retorted Morgan. "No one can save you! Think of this as like your going away party! Because you'll be going away for a long time!"

"I have a bad feeling about this," commented Simon as Carlos frowned in response to Morgan's comment.

"But enough talking," snickered Morgan as he threw his hands into the air. "Let the show begin!"

Morgan closed his eyes as shadow tendrils spurted from his body and began to form around the arena, creating a black translucent dome. When Morgan opened his eyes, they were pitch black.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" announced Morgan as he took a bow. "I am tonight's entertainment! And it's going to be a live show of blood!"

Carlos cringed as Morgan have him a twisted smile that could match that of the infamous Joker's.

"Give me all you've got!" he challenged as he regained his composure.

"Be careful what you wish for," loafed Morgan as he waved his finger. "Because it just might come true!"

Suddenly, from Scorpion erupted a stream of dark energy, which then curved and flowed downwards into Morgan. He gave a light laugh and cracked his knuckles.

The students in the crowd looked at each other with some confusion and fear.

"Attack Scorpion!" commanded Morgan as his bey shot forward and smashed Wolf out of the way.

Carlos gasped as he felt a sharp pain suddenly in his chest.

'What was that?' he thought but shrugged it off.

"Fight back Wolf!" ordered Carlos as his bey regained its balance and charged at Scorpion.

Morgan laughed. "You think a weak and pathetic attack like that will stop Scorpion?"

Carlos ignored him and continued his attack, and Wolf smashed into Scorpion but failed to knock it away.

"What?" questioned Carlos in confusion.

Morgan waved his finger. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. I thought you were smarter then this Carlos." He then smirked and shrugged. "I guess I was wrong."

"What are you talking about?" asked Carlos, slightly flustered.

Morgan just shook his head and laughed. "Why don't you watch and find out!" he taunted.

'Forget this,' Carlos thought. 'I'll just have to keep attacking until they get through.'

"Go Wolf!" he commanded as he flung his hand out. "Hit 'em again!"

A large grey wolf with a light blue aura appeared and howled before charging towards Scorpion. As it came to the bey, it used its paw to swipe at it, sending it flying into the air.

"Nice attack!" commented Max as the crowd watched as the bey flew high into the air.

Morgan spat at the ground. "You disgust me with your hope!"

Carlos frowned in reply.

"I'll show you what real power is!" Morgan continued and he threw his hands out. "Dark Move!" he shouted.

"Did he say…?" stuttered Kiara in shock.

"Dark move…?" finished Kenny.

Max growled in anger. "Fuck," he cursed silently.

Two balls of red energy appeared in Morgan's hands, and he pushed them together and threw the ball high into the air where it connected with Scorpio and made the bey glow red.

"Oh shit," whispered Carlos.

"Fiendish Claw Slash!" laughed Morganas as a Scarlet Scorpion appeared in the side and crashed downwards towards the Wolf, slashing it with its claw and shattering it.

"Gah!" screamed Carlos as a slash mark appeared across his chest and the impact from the attack threw him back into the dome.

"That was lesson #1," loafed Morgan. "Rules of this battle mean you feel the damage your bey feels."

Carlos gripped his chest and stumbled back over to the arena.

"How does this work?" asked Carlos.

"I've been given dark powers," explained Morgan. "I can do 'dark' things."

"Then why aren't you feeling pain?" Carlos questioned.

"Because my attacks are infused with dark magic so they inflict more damage!"

Carlos' eyes widened at the words.

"Dark magic?" he questioned with a puzzled expression on his face.

Morgan nodded and pointed at the dome. "How do you think this thing appeared?"

"It's just an illusion," answered Carlos. "Isn't it? I mean, you can't actually create a dome with dark energy?"

A twisted smirk tore across Morgan's face. "Why not."

"So you really want to makes this a dirty battle," Carlos growled.

Morgan folded his arms and his right eye bulged. "I want to make you suffer."

"I'm going to save you Morgan even if it kills me," Carlos stated.

"Oh it will kill you alright," answered Morgan maliciously.

Carlos just growled and ignored the pain in his chest. "Let's go Wolf!"

Wolf managed to regain some of its balance and began to circle the arena.

Morgan laughed. "Another futile attempt at hurting me?"

"That is correct," replied Carlos bluntly. "Wolf! Special Move! Blazing Bite Attack!"

Wolf glowed blue and began to power up as it circled the arena at high speeds.

Morgan grinned devilishly. "Bring it."

"Strike now Wolf!" roared Carlos as his bey shot towards Scorpion and clashed with it, sending sparks flying.

"Being bit by a bug would have hurt more," mocked Morgan, completely unfazed by the attack.

"I beg to differ!" retorted Carlos. "Wolf!"

Wolf backed off slightly and moved in again, its attack focused on Scorpion's energy ring.

At the same time, a Wolf appeared and used its jaws to bite the Scorpion, which thrashed around in panic.

"So what-" Morgan cried before he screamed and a bite mark appeared on his leg.

At the same time, Wolf sent a shattering blow to Scorpion, sending a crack all over its spin track.

"You bitch!" cursed Morgan as he clutched his leg in pain. "How dare you damage me!"

"I dare alright!" answered Carlos fiercely. "I'm going to beat you till you bring back the real Morgan!"

"You still don't get it!" loafed Morgan as he stood up and his dark eyes gazed into Carlos'. "I am Morgan! I'm him! The new and improved Morgan Blue Robinson Abyss! You may think I'm an imposter, but I'm not! I'm Morgan's dark side who's come out to play!"

Carlos gritted his teeth and bunched up his fists. "Then it looks like play time's over! Wolf!"

The white and grey blue circled around and shot to where Scorpion was spinning. Wolf struck immediately, smashing Scorpio away and then chasing after it.

"Barrage Attack!" ordered Carlos as he threw his hand out.

Wolf began to circle Scorpio at high speeds, sending powerful hits to the opposing bey and not allowing it to regain any of its balance.

"Now you're starting to get on my nerves," scowled Morgan as he felt the blows his bey took.

"It's number one on my bucket list!" replied Carlos.

"If you're going to be a dick about this," growled Morgan. "Then I'm going to have to be an even bigger one!"

"Oh boy," sighed Blaze.

"Special Move!" roared Morgan. "Flaring Claw!"

Scorpio suddenly vanished from sight, escaping from Wolf.

"Oh boy," said Carlos, knowing fully well what was about to happen.

"Stealth attack!" boomed Morgan as his bey appeared from nowhere and send a powerful attack at Wolf, shattering its spin track.

Carlos screamed as another claw mark ripped across his chest and he was thrown back into the dome once more.

"And it's out of the ball park!" mocked Morgan cruelly.

Carlos growled as he stumbled back over to the arena and coughed up some blood.

'I'm really getting hit bad,' thought Carlos. 'Can I win this? No, I have to keep fighting! I have to save Morgan!'

"Wolf!" exclaimed Carlos as his bey did its best to regain some of its stamina and balance despite its cracked spin track.

"Back for more punishment I see," mused Morgan.

"I'm going to fight till the end!" declared Carlos. "Till the last breath leaves my body!"

"Looks like its time for checkmate!" laughed Morgan.

"Yes," answered Carlos. "For you! Special move! Return Wolf!"

A blue aura surrounded Wolf as it charged forward and clashed with Scorpio, which glowed red in return.

"Wolf!"

"Scorpio!"

The two beys continued to clash as they spun around the arena sending sparks flying all over the place.

"Now strike Wolf!" commanded Carlos and his bey moved away before shifting sideways to send Scorpion flying away to the other side of the arena.

"So you still have some fight left," observed Morgan. "Well so do I."

"Bring it!" challenged Carlos.

"Then bring it I shall!" Morgan cried. "Special Move! Poison Fury!"

The Scorpion appeared once again and then used its claws as weapons and charged towards the Wolf.

"Ready or not here I come!" declared Morgan as the Scorpion slashed at Wolf with its claw.

"Dodge Wolf!" ordered Carlos and the spirit leapt out of the way.

"You can run but you can't hide!" warned Morgan as the Scorpion struck again, this time stabbing the Wolf in the stomach, shattering it.

Carlos screamed as blood leaked from his abdomen.

"Do you like your early birthday present?" laughed Morgan.

Carlos fell to his knees, clutching his wound and continued to scream.

"What's wrong Carlos?" mocked Morgan sarcastically.

Carlos looked up at Morgan, his eyes flashing with anger.

"Someone's angry," Morgan snickered in reply.

Carlos groaned as he stood up and looked at the blood on his hands. "How could you do something like this?"

Morgan shrugged. "Surprisingly, it's fun."

"Seriously?"

Morgan smiled. "I'm going to miss you when you're dead."

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" retorted Carlos.

"I don't think you have anything to say about it!" spat Morgan.

"I still have a few tricks up my sleeve!" cried Carlos.

"Oh I'm so scared!" mocked Morgan. "Let's see then!"

"Wolf!" roared Carlos. "Special Move! Furious Ware-Wolf Attack!"

The Wolf appeared and howled before multiplying into numerous copies, which surrounded Scorpion.

Morgan smirked. "I've seen this trick a thousand times, what makes you think I can't find the real one.'

"Because you've never seen me do this!" Carlos snapped. "Strike now Wolf!"

The Wolf clone army all howled, releasing a sonic stream, which began to smash Scorpion around the arena, and causing Morgan to scream as he covered his ears.

"A dirty trick!"

"There's more where that came from!" answered Carlos. "Now go Wolf!"

The Wolf replicas all ran forward and began to dive, claw and bite as the scarlet Scorpion appeared.

Morgan howled in pain as he clutched slash marks and jaw marks that appeared all over his body.

"You continue to make me mad!" growled Morgan.

"You got it!" replied Carlos. "And I won't stop till I win!"

"Too bad you won't win!" Morgan answered. "Scorpion!"

The scarlet Scorpion used its tail to swing at the Wolf's shattering the fake ones and whipping the real one.

Carlos cried out as a stinging pain shot through his spine.

"I think we should end this," suggested Morgan.

"I guess this is the end then," said Carlos.

"I guess it is," answered Morgan. "It was a pleasure serving with you."

Carlos nodded and the two bladers' beys began to circle the arena at high speeds.

"It all comes down to this," commented Max as he watched.

"Run Wolf!" Carlos exclaimed as he glowed with blue aura.

"Rush Scorpion!" Morgan cried as he glowed with red aura.

The Wolf and the Scorpion appeared and faced each other. Wolf howled while Scorpion hissed.

"Go Wolf!" ordered Carlos as his bey shot forward.

"Attack Scorpion!" commanded Morgan as his bey shot forward as well.

"GO!" they shouted as their two beys clashed.

"SPECIAL MOVE!" they cried.

"SONIC HOWL!"

"BURNING STING!"

Scorpion's stinger charged with scarlet energy, which it threw towards Wolf, while the latter spat a ball of aqua energy at Scorpion.

The two energy attacks hit and created an explosion of white light that filled the dome. The energy was so powerful that Carlos and Morgan were pushing forward as not to be flung back. Their clothes and even their hair were blowing back from the power colliding moves.

"WOLF!"

"SCORPION!"

Scorpion hissed fiercely at Wolf which howled in returned and leapt upon its foe, biting and clawing.

"Bring 'em down Wolf!" roared Carlos as he fist pumped the air.

Wolf howled again and built up another energy blast in its mouth and spat it at Scorpion. It exploded on impact and pushed Morgan back slightly who groaned in frustration. Scorpion screamed in pain as the blast broke two of its legs off.

"Make them feel the pain Scorpion!" Carlos bellowed as he threw his hand into the air. Scorpion replied with a hiss and generated another energy orb with its tail before throwing it at Wolf.

"Dodge Wolf!" commanded Carlos frantically and his bey beast made a terrific dive out of the way.

Morgan simply smiled. "Now strike Scorpion!"

Using its tail, Scorpion slashed and stabbed Wolf, causing it and Carlos to yelp in pain.

"Now send them into oblivion!" Morgan laughed manically as Scorpion charged another energy attack and threw it. This time, it hit Wolf and sent it flying back.

"WOLF!" cried Carlos in panic.

"The final countdown has begun!" taunted Morgan.

"I'll never give in!" retorted Carlos. "I will save you Morgan no matter what!"

Wolf managed to recover from the previous attack and sprung back into the battle. The two beasts threw each other off and generated their strongest attacks.

Carlos and Morgan starred at each other, as time seemed to slow.

"SPECIAL MOVE!" they exclaimed simultaneously.

"SONIC HOWL!"

"BURNING STING!"

Carlos and Wolf began to shine with light blue energy while Morgan and Scorpion radiated with red energy.

The two boys roared as their beats lunged at each other, the resulting power clash causing them to shatter and brightening the light that they were concealed in.

The crowd gasped and covered their eyes as the dome around the bladers became pure light and illuminated the stadium.

Morgan's eyes went fully red and Carlos' eyes went fully blue.

"CHARGE WOLF!" exclaimed Carlos as his bey began to spin around the arena rapidly.

"RUN SCORPION!" cried Morgan as Scorpion began to spin around the arena rapidly as well.

As Wolf and Scorpion spun, they created trails of blue and red energy respectively. The beys energy became brighter and eventually, they began to spin above the arena.

Carlos and Morgan literally floated into the air with power and they prepared their beys for the final blows.

"GO!" they both screamed in union and with fury as their beys sprinted towards each other and clashed, sending red and blue sparks flying.

As the two beys clashed, time seemed to freeze for a second and the two friends looked at each other.

"Morgan," said Carlos.

"Carlos," replied Morgan.

"I'm almost there," claimed Carlos, tears forming in his eyes. "I'm almost there."

He stepped into the center of the light and held his hand out.

Morgan smiled and walked to the center as well and looked at his hand. He thought for a moment and then moved his hand to shake Carlos.'

Carlos looked on happily but then frowned when Morgan took his hand away just as he was about to shake.

"What?" questioned Carlos.

Morgan shook his head as the two beys clashed above them.

"I'm sorry Carlos," Morgan said, with a bit of sadness in his voice. "I've changed. I've cast off my shackles and now I'm stronger. I plan to be the best and to do that I have to destroy what remains of my former self."

More tears sprung from Carlos' eyes as he listened to his friend's words.

"No!" protested Carlos. "No! Come back Morgan! I'm your friend! Please don't go! I need you!"

Morgan shook his head again. "Deep down, I truly do care about you. But friends will only hold me back. Friendship is just an excuse for weaklings to cling together. But I'm not a weakling anymore." A single tear fell from Morgan's eye. "My only regret is that I have to let you go."

A look of horror crossed Carlos' face. "NO!"

Morgan saluted. "This the end of the line Carlos. It was a pleasure serving with you. I'll never forget you. But it looks like we won't be friends after the end. But I truly see you as my best friend, from the bottom of my heart."

Carlos gave a desperate look to his friend before he cried out as Scorpion rammed Wolf into the stadium, and there was an explosion of dark energy.

Carlos screamed in pain as he was thrust against the dome, which shattered and he fell.

The crowd gasped as Carlos stood up, covered in cuts and bruises. Blood was leaking from multiple wounds on his body and Wolf lay cracked at the bottom of the arena.

"Morgan," stuttered Carlos as he held his hand out towards Morgan. "I'm sorry…I…wasn't…strong…enough…to…save…you…I'm sorry…I…"

Blood suddenly began to leak from his mouth and he fell to the ground with a crash, silencing the crowd.

Morgan recalled his bey as a tear dropped from his eye. He looked where his former friend lay on the ground and smiled sadly.

"I will always love you as a friend Carlos," Morgan stated as he walked off, leaving the nurses to come and take Carlos and his bey to the medical wing.

The crowd was silent and only until Mr. Jones decided to postpone the match till the next day did they leave.

As Morgan left, he turned briefly and gave one last glance at his former friend as he was carried away.

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued: Next Chapter – Dark Hunt <strong>

**With Carlos defeated, Santina steps up to take on Regina. But an even more sinister enemy waits. The one member that has yet to appear finally does, and she's ready to bring out a brand new dark power.**

_**"****Something evil is coming," she warned with an evil tone. "And this time no one will stop it. This time, we burn. This time, we suffer and die." She paused for a moment and then smiled. "And this time? This time the hero is the one who destroys the world." **_

**Was that epic or what! Did I get the emotion at the end right! Or could it have been better? And what about the quote from the next chapter? Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed and PLEASE REVIEW! **


	32. Chapter 32: Dark Hunt

**Well, that was a lot of reviews if you include all the catch up one's CheckMyProfileYouMightKnowMe did. 15 all up! That makes me feel god! This took longer to post because I was updating one of my older stories. Now, we get finally get to see Unmei battle and find out just how powerful she really is. But first, the review responses. **

**AKA99: **It is definitely going to be good!

**Kawaiino Tenshi Kiki: **I hadn't realized you'd changed your profile name, sorry. I have to thank you though for giving me Carlos and Morgan, without them I could never have done the previous chapter as well as I had. The friend VS friend battle has always made everything seem more interesting and it also gives the battle more meaning. It's not just two people fighting; it's basically family fighting. Yeah, I didn't kill Carlos because he still has a…shall we say important part in the story once we get to the Chaotic Order arc. Also, I have redone the end of the previous chapter so that it has a bit more emotion and action in it.

**Guest: **Pardon?

**MarsTwilight: **I'm glad to know that you enjoy reading this story and there's no need to thank me, I was intent on writing this story. That's why I've already expanded the plot to cover more then one season due to how much people enjoy this story and how much people read it. And this chapter is going to be awesome! I hope.

**Turtleswift11: **Wow is one way to describe it. Yeah, Mitzuki is in a coma and so is Carlos. And thanks for telling me that I'm an awesome author, it really brightens my day. Also, (Spoilers!), the Heir will be a male.

**Alpha Dragonis: **Yes, unfortunately Carlos is the next to end up in the hospital wing. This may have been epic, but it only get's more epic from here, especially once we've delved into the Chaotic Order and Dark Oath (Dark Cometh renamed) arc.

**TheNightmareBringer: **It makes me smile to know that you love this story so much and it makes me proud to know that you think I'm one of the best writers you know.

**CheckMyProfileYouMightKnowMe: **Don't worry about not having reviewed in a long time, you managed to review now and that's great! Now, I'm going to reply to all of you latest reviews!

**Chapter 23: **The plot twists and dark moves are all designed to get you going.

**Chapter 24: **Yes, it was about time Sky was introduced and I'm glad you liked the character interaction.

**Chapter 25: **Whew, good thing I got Sky right. And I'm glad to know you thought it was amazing!

**Chapter 26: **Happy to know you loved the chapter and thought it was so good!

**Chapter 27: **If you were cheering then it must have been good. Glad to know you thought it was a great chapter.

**Chapter 28: **Thanks for telling me the description was great and for telling me that it was 'wow!'

**Chapter 29: **If you're shivering then I must have written the dark elements right. Thanks for telling me you love this!

**Chapter 30: **It makes me really happy to know that your heart was seriously pounding that much from reading that chapter!

**Chapter 31: **A genius? I never thought of describing my self that way. But I guess you could call me that if I really do create a terrific plot, twist it, put it in stops, yank them out, and put it out on a pedestal for all to see then I guess I am a genius. Thanks for loving this story so much and I hope you continue to read and review!

**And it's time for the next chapter in the Beyblade Metal Heroes saga! Also, I have the pictures for the bey beasts done but I've apparently lost my knack for drawing people. Therefore, I need someone or some people to draw the four main characters, Team Nova Flare (excluding Kenny). You don't have to be able to draw all of them, just one if you want. PM me if anyone wants to or if anyone needs the info for a character to draw them. **

**Also, I've updated the previous chapter's end so that it has a bit more emotion and action to it. I recommend you read it. And now for the chapter. Remember ****PLEASE READ & REVIEW! **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 32: Dark Hunt <strong>

Max silently approached his bedroom. His mouth was a straight line, bearing no emotion and his eyes appeared dark and angry. His fists were curled up into balls and he walked slowly.

Upon coming to his room, Max gave a fierce cry and sent his right-handed fist slamming into the door. It shook from the blow but remained undamaged.

"God damn it!" he cursed as he felt to his knees and punched the ground repetitively. "Carlos…I'm sorry…I should have done something…I should of stopped Morgan…"

* * *

><p><em>Carlos gave a desperate look to his friend and then cried out as Scorpion rammed Wolf into the stadium creating an explosion of dark energy. <em>

_Carlos screamed in pain as he was thrust against the dome, which shattered and he fell. _

_The crowd gasped as Carlos stood up, covered in cuts and bruises. Blood was leaking from multiple wounds on his body and Wolf lay cracked at the bottom of the arena. _

_"__Morgan," stuttered Carlos as he held his hand out towards Morgan. "I'm sorry…I…wasn't…strong…enough…to…save…you…I'm sorry…I…" _

_Blood suddenly began to leak from his mouth and he fell to the ground with a crash, silencing the crowd. _

* * *

><p>Max stood up and screamed at the ceiling, his order crest on his hand illuminating with red energy as his blood boiled.<p>

Max pulled out a key from his pocket and pushed it into the lock and turned it. There was a click, and Max thrust the door open before locking it behind him. He jumped onto the bed and began frantically punching his pillow in a rage.

Tears poured from his eyes as he threw punch after punch. Finally, he gave in and lay down on his bed, looking up at the ceiling.

"I was useless," Max whispered to himself as he gripped the sides of his bed. "I let Morgan attack Carlos. I should have done something. But I didn't, and now he's…now he's…"

He stopped himself from speaking. He couldn't jump to conclusions. He didn't want to think about how bad it would be if Carlos didn't make it.

"Idiot!" cursed Max as he slapped himself. "Do what you do best! Think positive!"

He stood up and began slapping himself over and over again before sighing and sitting down at his desk.

"Oh man," he groaned as he rested his head on the desk. "This twisted bad guy is totally messing things up. And its only going to get worse if what Artemis said is true…"

* * *

><p><em>"<em>_This is only the start," Artemis continued. "He's here. He's possessing bladers and taking them under control. Just like he did to me." _

_"__Who?" asked Max. _

_"__Nemesis' Heir," answered Artemis. _

_Team Nova Flare gasped. _

_"__Nemesis has an heir," stuttered Simon, fearfully. _

_"__Beware Zygor," said Artemis before falling to the ground, unconscious. _

* * *

><p>Max gulped nervously. "If Nemesis really does have an heir, does that mean he's just as powerful as the original?"<p>

Max stood up and walked over to his window, where he gazed at the night sky.

"And then there's the whole chaos and order thingy," Max added as he looked at his hand where the crest scar laid on the back of his hand. "How does this fit into all of that?"

He looked out into the night sky and waited for something to answer. Of course, nothing did.

He sighed in annoyance and walked over to his bed and collapsed onto it. Max closed his eyes for a few moments but opened them when his hand began to fell tingly.

"Now what," he cursed as he sat up and looked at his hand. His crest began to glow brighter then usual and blinded Max.

"Cut me some slack," he commented as the light got brighter and eventually devoured him.

"SHIT!" Max screamed as he fell into a void of red energy. "OH MY GOSH I'M GONNA DIE!"

Max covered his eyes and screamed as he fell through the void.

* * *

><p>Max gasped and breathed heavily as he awoke, lying down on hard cold stone. He was staring up at a cave ceiling, which had numerous engravings carved into it. It appeared to be a language of some sorts.<p>

"Let me guess," Max commented as he stood up and brushed himself off. "Another vision?"

Max turned to examine the cave walls, which had more engravings and strange images mostly coloured yellow white and red. Strangely, the lines and shapes didn't reform so that Max could read what they said.

"That's unusual," he stated a she looked at his crest. "Or maybe I've broken it somehow?"

"You haven't broken it," answered a voice.

Max turned to see an opening in the cave with light shining through it. Max slowly made his way over to it and stepped outside where he gazed at his surroundings.

"Where the hell am I?" asked Max as he looked into the red and white sky and the golden surroundings. It appeared to be a realm of some sort and had mysterious structures and mountains in every direction.

"I'm not on Earth anymore am I?" Max asked.

"You're right there," answered the voice again.

Max whipped around, expecting to face someone, but there was nothing there.

"Who's there?" he demanded, throwing his arm out. "Show yourself."

The voice chuckled. "As you wish."

Suddenly, a golden form began to appear in front of Max. At first, it was a cocoon like shape and was a bit taller then Max. Slowly, it began to take the form of a person and eventually changed to that of a man in silver robes wearing a red cape and a golden crown. The Man had grey hair and a beard. Max recognized him as King Luther.

"King Luther?" Max gasped.

Luther nodded. "I am no longer a king. I am simply one with the cosmos."

"How are you here?" Max questioned. "Isn't this a vision of the past?"

Luther shook his head. "No, what your are seeing right now is the Realm of Order."

"Realm of Order?"

"That's right," answered Luther as he gestured to the golden atmosphere. "This is the place where all the good and justice resides. The place where order is born."

Max once again looked around at his surroundings.

"Is this like some parallel dimension?" he asked.

Luther shrugged. "Sort of. Although it is it's own place, it co-exists with Earth. You are aware of the kinetic particle theory?"

Max nodded. "Of course." He thought for a moment and then added, "Refresh my memory."

Luther cleared his throat before speaking. "As you hopefully know, there are three main states of matter. Solids, liquids and gases. According to the theory, everything is made up of atoms. And depending on what state of matter you are, our particles vibrate at certain speeds. Solids have a slow vibration, liquids have a faster vibration, and gases have the fastest vibration."

Max tried his best to pay attention and comprehend what Luther was trying to say but couldn't. He always hated science and was getting a lecture about it right now, which just bored him.

"Understand?" asked Luther.

After thinking for a while, Max nodded. "I think so."

Luther smiled. "Good. Now, according to the theory, all the atoms on Earth and in the Milky Way Galaxy vibrate on a certain frequency. Therefore, it is believed that you could have an infinite number of galaxies occupying the same space but vibrating on different frequencies."

**(A/N: Can you believe science classes actually came in handy for once?) **

Max's mouth fell open. "And this theory is correct."

"Now you're catching on," replied Luther.

Max looked at his hands. "This is mind blowing."

"It is when you think about it," added Luther.

"So you're dead right?" observed Max. "Does this mean this is like heaven or something."

Luther laughed. "No, this isn't heaven. In fact, its very rare that anyone get's sent here."

"Then how did you get here?" questioned Max.

Luther sighed and placed his hand on Max's shoulders. "I'm presuming you've seen what happened to my kingdom."

Max scratched his head and smiled. "Uh yeah, sorry about that. It must have been hard."

Luther shook his head. "I didn't get to see it. You see, when my betraying daughter Minara ripped all of my chaos energy from my body, she left me on the verge of death. The only way I could sustain my life was with my order powers. But I was too weak to fight, so I gave my life and my last powers to Siana."

* * *

><p><em>King Luther cried out in pain as he lay on the floor, gasping for breath. His hand which once bore the chaos symbol had withered and had gone black. His skin was pale and he coughed blood. <em>

_Suddenly, the doors opened and Siana walked in, a look of horror across her face. _

_"__Father!" she cried out in worry as he ran to her king and knelt by his side. "What happened? Who did this?" _

_Luther raised his head slightly. "It was…your sister…Minara." _

_Siana's eyes widened in shock. "No, it can't be. She wouldn't…" _

_"__Search your feelings," answered Luther with a cough. "You know this was bound to happen. _

_Siana bit her lip and took her father's hand in his own. _

_"__We need to get you back to health father," Siana said. "Only you can stop Minara." _

_Luther coughed violently. "No. It is too late for me. Minara has stripped me of my chaos power. I am only living right now through my order power. You must take it. Rise up against Minara and save the kingdom my daughter. Do what must be done. Do not hesitate. Show no mercy. Minara must be stopped at all costs." _

_Tears began to roll from Siana's eyes as her father placed his good hand on her forehead and his powers were transferred to her. _

_"__I love you Siana," said Luther with his dying breathes. "Now and forever…" _

_Luther's eyes closed and he fell limb. Siana lowered her head before standing up and began screaming in rage. _

_"__NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" _

* * *

><p>"You gave your life to help Siana," Max commented.<p>

Luther nodded. "I did what I had to do. And in turn, I was taken here to the Realm of Order."

Max looked at the sky. "So, if there's a Realm of Order does that mean there's a Realm of Chaos?"

"Yes there is," answered Luther. "But I have no idea what it is like. I presume it would be the polar opposite of this place."

Max looked at him blankly. "Polar opposite?"

Luther sighed in annoyance and face palmed himself. "Do you ever pay attention in class."

Max rubbed the back of his head and laughed. "Always...or most of the time…or maybe rarely…okay never."

Luther just shook his head. "Polar opposites mean two things that are completely different and opposite of each other. So, because this realm holds all of the good and justice, the Chaos one would hold all the bad and injustice."

Max nodded and then asked, "So if you have to like die to get here, how did I make it here?"

"You're unique," Luther replied. "You're the reincarnation of the Crimson Hero, the greatest order hero of all time."

"Really?"

"Oh yes, the legend of the Crimson Hero has been passed down for centuries between the followers of Order and Chaos."

"Chaos as well?" questioned Max.

Luther turned to face the sky. "Perhaps it is best I tell you the legend."

Max shrugged. " It couldn't hurt."

"A long time ago," began Luther. "In a galaxy far, far away."

"Hey! That's from Star Wars! And how do you even know what that is?"

Luther laughed. "From this realm, I can see your world. I like to keep up to date with society. Otherwise it get's pretty boring here. The original Star Wars film is the one I like the most. Although Revenge of the Sith always excites me as well. Can you believe they're going to make a sequel trilogy? I can't wait for Episode VII to come out, can't you?"

Max frowned. "I hate to say it but you're a fangirl. Now can we get onto the story?"

"Of course," continued Luther. "A long time ago, before my kingdom and before the Crimson Hero himself was a war. A war between chaos and order. We call it, the Armageddon War. It was devastating, which is how it got the name 'Armageddon War.' Eventually, the two leaders of the army realized how much destruction they were causing and made a truce. This ended the war and peace was restored throughout the land for centuries. But, during the time of the Crimson Hero, a dark creature and beast rose to threaten the peace. Using its dark and maleficent powers, it turned villages to waste. Brought castles to ground. Vanquished armies. It conquered untold lands and gave unimaginable power to its armies. It was so feared that only the bravest of the brave dare spoke its name, and because of that, the beats' true name is lost in time. Eventually, the truce between chaos and order shattered and the two powers fought one more beginning the Chaos Order war. As the two armies fought and weakened each other, the beats bid its time and waited for the moment to strike. And strike it did. When the two armies were at their weakest, it sprung on them and devoured nearly all of their forces. Eventually, the Crimson Hero faced the beast alone and defeated it, saving the world and restoring peace. Or so the legend says."

Max's mouth was touching the floor. "Awesome! I'm the reincarnation of that guy! Sweet! That is so cool!"

"That's why you are so special," Luther continued. "And that is why you have been reborn."

"Reborn, that's just as cool!"

Luther groaned. "You've been reborn to face a new great and powerful threat."

Max immediately stopped celebrating. "Nemesis' Heir," he gasped.

"Indeed," Luther replied as he folded his arms. "And from what I can tell, the Heir will be even more powerful then Nemesis if he grows strong enough."

"I'm confused," interrupted Max. "If I'm supposed to be so powerful why didn't I get any powers to face Nemesis when he awoke."

"I'm going to assume you know about the Legendary Bladers," answered Luther, raising an eyebrow.

"I have to know something at least," Max said with a shrug.

"True," Luther responded. "Anyway, since the original Legendary Bladers were responsible for Nemesis' defeat, it made sense that the new Legendary Bladers fought the reborn Nemesis."

"But this is Nemesis' Heir," pointed out Max. "Shouldn't the Legendary Bladers fight him?"

Luther shook his head. "No, because this time you're not just facing a threat. You're facing a 'Chaos' threat."

* * *

><p><em>Suddenly, two triquetra symbols appeared on the wall, one pink, and one blue. Max watched as the symbols got brighter, and brighter, until they swallowed him up. <em>

_"__Who are you people?" asked Max. "Where am I? How did I get here?"_

_"__Don't be rude Max," replied Athena. "After all, we have invited you here."_

_"__I don't remember getting an invitation," spat Max coldly. _

_"__It was compulsory," snickered Hermes. "So you didn't t get a choice in the matter."_

_"__Well I'm here," said Max. "And I want to leave now. So, how do I get out of here?"_

_"__You can't just leave," replied Athena. "It doesn't work that way."_

_"__You have to defeat us," finished Hermes. _

_"__Oh terrific," cursed Max. _

_"__If you lose this match!" added Hermes as he attached a blue bey to his launcher. "We get your soul! Along with all your beys power and your own!" _

_"__This sounds an awful lot like Yu-Gi-Oh," joked Max. "So, if I lose you take my soul. And then do you banish my mind to the shadow realm or to the netherworld?"_

_"__Oh this is no joke," spat Athena. "You will lose your soul. And unlike how they do it in the cartoons, it is a very slow and extremely painful process." _

_"__And we will enjoin every second of it," hissed Hermes. _

_"__Then I won't lose!" replied Max. "Let's do this!"_

* * *

><p><em>"<em>_CHAOS!" roared Luke as he held his hand up and his golden chaos crest glowed. _

_"__A crest of chaos!" gasped Max. _

_"__O' will of chaos hear my plead!" chanted Luke. "Grant me the power, that I would need! In brightest day, in blackest night, dark power of chaos unleash your might!" _

_The arena glowed and a golden chaos crest appeared on it. _

_"__You have to stop this match!" interrupted Max as he ran towards the arena. _

_"__Wrong Smith!" barked Luke as a golden sphere appeared around the arena blocking Max. _

_"__What the heck?" cursed Max. _

_"__Once a battle like this begins!" explained Luke. "It can only end with someone winning and someone losing!" _

_"__Say what," commented Simon confused. _

_"__And then I get your souls and your beys power!" laughed Luke. _

_"__No!" roared Max as be punched the golden dome, which shocked him and sent him flying back. _

_"__Max!" cried Kiara as she rushed to her teammate's aid. _

_"__Not everyone get's out of this alive!" mocked Luke wickedly. _

* * *

><p>Max cringed. "That's right, I forgot. They're all using chaos powers."<p>

"That is why this enemy is so much more dangerous then any other before," explained Luther. "By using the dark powers of order, the Heir is slowly gaining power and is given it to his disciples so that they can do his bidding while here gains strength."

Max gasped, "Zygor. And Hermes and Athena."

Luther nodded. "Yes, they are all in on it. And they themselves are getting stronger. Especially Zygor."

"So could you spy on Zygor and tell me his plan?" asked Max.

"Unfortunately no," responded Luther. "My ability to view your world has limits. It appears the Heir has safe guarded certain parts of the school with a kind of 'invisibility' field. Therefore, it blocks out order powers from looking in."

Max groaned. "That sucks. So it's up to me then so save the academy?"

Luther looked at Max seriously. "Not just the academy. Not just your hometown. And not just Japan. You have to save the world."

Max bit his lip. "That's a lot of pressure on me."

"Oh yes," answered Luther as he placed his hand on Max's shoulders. "In a time of myth and a time of magic. The destiny of a great kingdom rests on the shoulders of a young man. His name…is Max."

"Thanks that' really…hey!" snapped Max when he recognized the words. "That's from Merlin!"

Luther burst into laughter. "Oh you got me again! I thought I had you for a moment! Merlin truly is a great show! And I just love that Dragon and how he narrates the start. I've been practicing how to sound like him. That and Admiral Ackbar from Return of the Jedi. It's a Trap! Did I get it right?"

Max just starred at Luther blankly again. "You are such a nerd that it isn't even funny."

"Once again," replied Luther, still laughing as he took his hands away from Max's shoulders. "It get's boring here. There's not much to see and it's hard to meet with the Tribunal of-"

Luther immediately stopped talking and turned away.

"Tribunal of what?" questioned Max as he walked around Luther so he was facing him again.

"I wasn't supposed to tell you this," sighed Luther. "But since I said it I suppose I must tell you. The Tribunal of Order are the ones who control this realm. They have mystical powers and have lived since Order was first created at the beginning of time."

Max frowned. "Why didn't you want to tell me that."

Luther shrugged. "They'd prefer no one knew of their existence. They always meditate and they hate to be disturbed. That's why I don't see them much and that is why I view your world so much."

"How do you even view my world?" asked Max curious.

Luther turned and pointed to the top of a mountain not to far away. The tip of the mountain glowed golden. "The top of that mountain houses the Orb of Vision. With that, you can view the world. Come."

Luther stepped off the piece of Earth they stood on and floated out a little. Max gulped as he stepped over to the edge and looked down at the endless drop.

"I'm not sure I can fly," Max muttered nervously.

Luther sighed. "You have a crest of order. Put it to some good use."

Max looked at the crest on his hand and concentrated. It glowed red and a square strip of energy appeared at his feet.

"Sick," Max commented as he stepped onto it and he floated up into the air.

"Good," Luther said. "You're starting to get a feel of your power. Follow me."

Luther gestured to the mountain and flew off towards it. Max thought hard and the energy strip followed.

As they came closer to the mountaintop, Max noticed a golden orb floating just above it. It was quite large and had a majestic look to it.

"That looks so cool," commented Max as he and Luther landed on the mountain. He stepped off the energy strip, and it vanished.

"This is the Orb of Vision," introduced Luther as he held his hand out to the said object. "With this, you can 'tune' in to different places on Earth. I've even learnt to connect it to the Internet."

Max smiled. "Sweet."

"It is isn't it," responded Luther as be began to touch random places on the orb. "It takes a couple of hundred years to get it right, but once you get it, you can tune it to anything."

Suddenly, a strange sound began to emit from the orb.

"It appears I've got a sound," stated Luther. "Let's here what it says."

Both jumped when a maleficent voice sounded. "I'm going to show you something beautiful. Everyone, screaming for mercy. You want to protect the world, but you don't want it to change. You're all puppets, tangled in strings. In strings."

"Hang on a minute!" interrupted Max. "That's from the Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer!"

"Is it?" questioned Luther. "Oh it is! That's what I forgot to do! I was supposed to look up the new trailer! Just hold on a minute!" Luther began tapping frantically on the orb. "It will only take me a few moments to connect to YouTube!"

Max face palmed himself. "Nerd! And why am I even here again?"

Luther turned to face Max. "That's because you were really angry and I thought you could use some guidance."

"So you brought me here?"

Luther began taping on the orb again. "Technically I brought your conscience here. Your body is still lying in your room."

Max looked at his body. "So I'm having an out-of-body experience?"

"Something like that," Luther replied as the Orb showed a picture of the YouTube homepage. "Here we are."

"So how do I leave?" asked Max.

Luther turned away from the Orb and brought Max to the edge of the mountaintop.

"You jump," he stated.

Max looked at Luther like he was crazy. "Excuse me?"

"You jump. Go on, jump." Luther pointed at the endless drop below.

Max backed away from the edge. "No way. Not if you paid me."

"You're not going to die. The fall will simply return your mind to your body," Luther explained.

"Will it hurt?" Max asked.

"No."

"Okay then," Max gulped as he stepped to the edge. "Here I go."

"One last thing," stated Luther. "The force will be with you, always."

Max groaned. "That's Ben Kenobi from the original Star Wars film."

Luther sighed. "Maybe I need to quote from less famous movies."

"Or maybe you could stop all together," answered Max.

"Just jump," replied Luther as he pushed Max over the edge.

Max screamed as he fell, and fell, and fell, and fell, and fell. He was still screaming even when it was obvious that he wasn't going to hit the ground. Suddenly, his crest lit up and swallowed him in a bright light.

* * *

><p>Max screamed as he fell from his bed and landed hard on the floor.<p>

"Why does falling always mean I wake up falling from my bed," groaned Max as he stood up and rubbed his head. He checked his clock and panicked when he saw it was 6:00.

"I was there for like five minutes or something!" protested Max. "How does that mean it's been like nine hours here?"

He grumbled as he picked up Swordsman, tucked it onto its special compartment on his belt and exited the room.

'This means Regina is battling next,' thought Max as he made his way to the stadium. 'Which means another 'dark' battle.'

* * *

><p>The crowd was jam packed the stadium and were looking at the two teams seated on either side of the bey arena. Both Morgan and Regina had blank expressions on their faces while the other team, which was only composed of Santina and Fang now, looked determined.<p>

"Since Regina is the only other available member of Team Crimson that has yet to battle, she automatically must battle!" announced Mr. Jones.

Regina stood up, still with a blank expression and walked over to the arena with her arms folded.

"Now," continued Jones. "Who from Team Atlas will face Regina?"

Fang took a deep breath and took a step forward before Santina grabbed her by the arm to stop her.

"What is it Santina?" asked Fang.

"I want to battle," Santina answered.

"What?"

"I know you're the strongest of us," Santina explained. "But I want to be the one to take on Regina. I've been training and I studied Carlos and Morgan's battle all night. I think I might have figured out how to win this. I want you to trust me. I want you to let me fight for Carlos."

Fang looked into Santina's eyes and saw her determination.

Fang smiled. "Go on and win for Carlos."

Santina nodded and stepped up to the plate and faced Regina.

"So I'm stuck with you then?" spat Regina coldly.

Santina gave a fierce glare in return. "Don't expect an easy win."

Regina laughed. "Look at you! You actually think you have a chance against me! Who do you think you're talking too? I'm not your friend, you mess with me and you'll get what's coming to you!"

"Then bring it!" retorted Santina as she took out Deiopea and attached it to her launcher.

Regina smirked. "Oh I'll bring it alright and show you why everyone should fear me!" She swiftly pulled out Atalanta and attached it to her launcher.

"Three!" cried Santina.

"Two!" added the crowd.

"One!" finished Regina.

"Let It Rip!"

Deiopea and Atalanta launched for their respective bladers launchers and landed in the arena.

"Let's go Deiopea!" cried Santina as her bey began circling the arena.

Regina snorted. "Run Atalanta!"

Atalanta obeyed its master and began chasing after Deiopea.

"That was what I was hoping for!" declared Santina. "Now attack Deiopea!"

Suddenly, Deiopea spun away from the edge and across the arena and moved behind Atalanta.

Regina's eyes widened as Deiopea smashed into her bey, sending it flying due to the momentum Atalanta had built up.

"You bitch!" cursed Regina in anger.

'From studying Morgan and Carlos' battle and all of Regina's battles,' thought Santina. 'I've come up with multiple strategies for winning this match.'

"Center Deiopea!" ordered Santina as her bey spun to the middle of the arena.

Regina raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to do?"

"You'll find out soon enough," answered Santina.

Regina shrugged. "Your funeral! Attack now Atalanta!"

On cue, her bey shot forward, aiming right for the defenseless Deiopea.

"Special Move!" interrupted Santina. "Breeze Patience!"

A small breeze was released from Deiopea and the bey suddenly vanished.

"What!"

"Show them what you're made of Deiopea!" declared Santina as her bey reappeared behind Atalanta and knocked it away.

"Fighting dirty I see!" spat Regina coldly.

"What's the matter!" taunted Santina. "Can't stand a taste of your own medicine!"

Regina shot a deadly glare at Santina and counted with, "Don't mess with me girl or I'll mess you up!"

"I'm going to get you back for all the people you've hurt," declared Santina.

"Playing the hero I see," snorted Regina. "Well it looks like I'll be the bad guy!"

"And the bad guy always loses!" roared Santina as she threw her hand out. "Strike Deiopea!"

Her bey shot forward and began a repetitive strike against Atalanta, which was thrown back towards the edge of the arena.

"Are you trying to knock me out?" asked Regina angrily.

"You got it!" answered Santina. "Push them out Deiopea!"

Her bey obeyed and moved back slightly before dealing a powerful smash attack to Atalanta, sending it right to the edge of the arena.

Regina's cocky smile completely vanished from her face. "How dare you?"

"I dare alright!" replied Santina as her bey charged forward. "Finish this Deiopea!"

"Over my dead body!" snapped Regina. "Special Move! Whirling Hurricane!"

Atalanta began to spin faster, and a spinning hurricane shot out of the bey and encased it like a cocoon.

"Oh no!" cried Santina as she realized what was about to happen. It was too late to stop her bey however, and it smashed into the hurricane, the impact sending it flying up into the air.

"Now its time for a follow up move!" laughed Regina. "Special Move! Water Shards!"

The hurricane vanished and Atalanta spun to the center of the arena so that it was below the falling Deiopea.

"Eat this!" roared Regina as an array of ice shards shot from her bey and smashed into Deiopea, sending it flying up into the air again.

'I need to counter this quick before-' thought Santina before being cut off by Regina.

"Now use Whirling Hurricane again!" boomed Regina as the hurricane launched from her bey once again and knocked the flying Deiopea into the roof, smashing it.

A look of horror crossed Santina's face as Deiopea began to fall.

"It appears its over for you," mocked Regina as she folded her arms. "The battle is done."

"Don't count me out yet!" declared Santina. "You can do this Deiopea!"

By a miracle, Deiopea managed to land on the edge of the arena and slide into it to avoid the impact.

"Say what!" gasped Regina in shock.

"It's time for a counterattack!" cried Santina. "Let's go Deiopea!"

Her bey responded by circling the arena at high speeds.

"Stubborn little one aren't you," cursed Regina in annoyance. "It doesn't matter, I'll just have to crush you harder."

"Good luck getting the drop on me twice!" replied Santina fiercely.

Regina smirked devilishly. "Oh I will don't worry!"

Santina ignored her. "Strike now Deiopea! Show them who's boss!"

Deiopea shot forward and unleashed a barrage attack on Atalanta, sending it flying around the arena.

Regina spat at the ground. "You make me sick with your pathetic attempts at victory."

"Say what you want," answered Santina. "It isn't going to stop me from winning!"

Regina just shook her head. "Idiot."

"Deiopea!" cried Santina and her bey sent a shattering hit to Atalanta, knocking it to the other side of the arena.

"Time for a strike," stated Regina. "Special Move! Ground Shaker!"

Atalanta began to vibrate super fast, causing the ground to shake like an earthquake.

"What the heck?" questioned Santina as her bey lost its balance and began to spin all over the arena via the seismic activity.

Regina waved her finger. "Let's see your bey survive this natural disaster."

Santina gritted her teeth.

'Calm down,' thought Santina. 'You've prepared for this. You just have to focus.'

"Run Deiopea!" declared Santina as she threw her hand into the air.

As multiple cracks appeared in the arena, Deiopea managed to dodge and jump over them, slowly making her way towards Atalanta.

"Impressive," snickered Regina. "This was only magnitude one, now its time to step it up a notch."

Atalanta began to vibrate faster, and the parts of the arena began to shoot up and shift around.

"Allow me to introduce to you the labyrinth of the quakes!" laughed Regina as she flung her arms out.

"Good thing I'm good at puzzles!" retorted Santina. "Let's see how long it takes me to get out of this!"

"And they say I'm cocky!" snorted Regina. "Just try and get passed this!"

"Let's go Deiopea!" cried Santina. "Pull through for me!"

Deiopea began to gracefully jump onto the raised parts so the arena and easily made it over to Atalanta.

"How the fu-" started Regina before being cut off.

"Eat this!" roared Santina as Deiopea smashed into Atalanta, sending it flying away and ending the earthquake, putting the pieces back and restoring the arena with only minor damage.

"You're really pissing me off now!" cursed Regina.

"It's my number one goal!" answered Santina.

"Attack Atalanta!" roared Regina in a fury as her bey shot forward.

"Rush Deiopea!" added Santina as her bey began to run forward as well.

"GO!" they both cried simultaneously as their beys smashed into each other, sending sparks flying.

"You took the bait," snarled Regina. "WHIRLING HURRICANE!"

Santina's eyes widened in shock as the hurricane erupted from Atalanta, throwing Deiopea flying high into the air.

"Now end this Atalanta!" ordered Regina as the hurricane was absorbed into Atalanta and released underneath it so it was propelled up towards the falling Deiopea.

"Special Move!" interrupted Santina. "Tornado Currents!"

"Say what?"

"I'll match you, tornado for hurricane!" exclaimed Santina as a tornado shot out of the bey and propelled it downwards to clash with Atalanta.

"Oh shit!" cursed Regina as she realized what was about to happen.

"Gravity's a bitch!" stated Santina. "Fortunately for me, it's a bitch to you!"

The wind around Deiopea turned into a torpedo and Atalanta cracked slightly as it was smashed into by the opposing bey and landed with a crash while Deiopea landed with ease.

"How dare you!" erupted Regina in a rage. "I'm going to get you for that!"

"Bring it on!" retorted Santina. "I can take anything you can throw!"

"BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR!" exclaimed Regina as shadow energy erupted from her and spread all over the arena. "DARK MOVE! PITCH BLACK CHAOTIC ATTACK!"

The shining 'Atalanta' woman appeared and immediately turned dark. She sprouted wings of dark energy, which cloaked the arena in shadows.

"Oh no!" panicked Max from the stands along with Team Nova Flare.

"This never ends well," added Blaze.

The shadows began sending blow after blow at Deiopea, but her bey was taking the hits fairly well.

"I see you're resisting!" observed Regina. "Unless you panic the attacks from this move won't have much affect!" She smirked sinisterly. "Let's change that!"

The shadows began to coil around Santina and trapped her in a cocoon of shadows.

Santina took a deep breath.

'Calm yourself,' she thought. 'Don't panic. That's what she wants. Think positive, push all of the negative stuff out of your head.'

Regina cried out in shock as Deiopea began to light up and dispelled the shadows. The 'Deiopea' woman appeared to face the Dark Woman and her light broke the cocoon around Santina.

"Impossible!" screamed Regina.

"Nothing's impossible," replied Santina. "As long as you believe! I'm going to win this and defeat you! Go Deiopea!"

The Shining Woman charged at the Dark One and created a sword of light in her hand. She swung it, and it sliced off one of the Dark Woman's wings. The Dark One let out a high-pitched scream and pushed the Shining Woman away. She drew all of her dark arrows and shot them all at the Deiopea woman.

"Dodge!" exclaimed Santina as her bey beast emitted a light that vaporized the oncoming attacks.

"End this!" cheered Santina as the Shining Woman charged and stabbed the Dark One through the heart with her sword, shattering it.

"YOU'RE GOING TO DIE FOR THAT ONE!" screamed Regina as dark energy exploded from her. "DARK MOVE! NIGHTARE SUPERNOVA!"

'She never used that move before!' panicked Santina in her mind.

The Dark Woman appeared once again and sprouted the dark wings as well.

"SINK INTO DEEPEST DARKNESS!" exclaimed Regina who began to laugh manically as the Dark One's wings created a tyrant wave of dark energy, which devoured the Shining Woman.

"NO!" protested Santina as her bey beast vanished and the wave shot towards her bey.

"NIGHY NIGHT!" exclaimed Regina as her attack fell upon Deiopea and smashed it up into the air, covered in cracks.

_"__Let me play!" _a voiced sounded in Regina's head and she smirked.

Santina screamed as the dark wave smashed into her and pounder her into the ground with a crash before vanishing.

Santina lay on the ground, all bruised and injured. As her bey fell towards the arena, no longer spinning, Regina laughed and recalled her bey just as Deiopea hit the arena with a clank and came to a stop.

"What the heck?" gasped Kenny. "She recalled her bey to early!"

Everyone had a confused look on their faces as the nurses came and removed Santina along with her damaged bey.

"Since Regina recalled her bey before Deiopea had come to a proper stop I have no choice but to declare Santina the winner," Jones announced with some confusion.

Regina shrugged and went back to her team.

"Tie breaker then I guess," stated Jones, still confused at Regina's actions. "Who will face Fang?"

Fang stepped up the arena, also slightly confused at what just happened.

'I have to win this for both Carlos and Santina,' she thought as she looked at her bey.

"Why did Regina recall her bey?" asked Simon.

"I have a bad feeling about this," replied Kiara.

Suddenly, the stadium doors burst open and the final member of Team Crimson entered. It was Unmei. Her long dark curly hair hung over her face and her hourglass figure was lined with black veins. The crowd immediately went silent once she entered.

Max's eyes widened as he saw he girl.

'I can actually feel a high powered dark energy radiating from her,' thought Max.

"I'm here," Unmei stated as he walked up to the arena and faced Fang. "So you're my opponent? I suppose you shall be good for testing my new powers."

"Excuse me?" replied Fang. "Do you really expect an easy win?"

"I'll make you a deal," Unmei said with a twisted smirk. "If I can't win by hitting you once I forfeit."

Fang looked at Unmei strangely. "Deal."

Unmei licked her lips. "Oh I'm going to enjoy this."

She held her left hand out and her launcher floated from her belt to it.

Fang gasped as she saw this happen.

'Did she just levitate the launcher?' she thought.

Unmei held out her other hand and her bey Dark Midnight Panther floated into it. It had a bright, yet dark blue outline throughout the whole bey and had a panther outlined in white printed on the face bolt. Its fusion wheel was silver and had a sharp look to it. The spin track was a dark red colour with a claw like mark on it. Overall, the bey had a malicious feel to it.

"Prepare for the darkness," Unmei whispered to herself as she brushed her hair out of the way to reveal her pitch-black lips and dark smoky eyes.

Fang felt queasy for a moment but shook it off and prepared Serval.

Unmei chuckled lightly as she prepared Dark Midnight Panther and aimed her launcher.

"Three!" cried Fang.

"Two!" added the crowd, uneasily.

"One!" finished Unmei, devilishly.

"Let It Rip!"

Panther and Serval shot from their launchers and spun into the arena.

"I made a deal with you," stated Unemi. "And I plan to win it!"

"You really think you can beat me with one hit?" asked Fang.

"I DO!" laughed Unmei as a black aura appeared around her body and dark energy balls appeared in her hands. "DARK MOVE! DARK HUNT!"

Unmei threw the energy balls into her bey and it exploded with dark energy, ripping the arena up and throwing the smashed pieces at the defenseless Serval.

"NO!' screamed Fang in panic as the boulders crushed her bey and destroyed the arena.

"SEE YOU IN HELL FANG!" taunted Unmei as a panther composed of shadows appeared and lunged at Fang.

Fang screamed in pain as she was lit alight with fire and collapsed to the ground along side her crushed bey.

Unmei burst into laughter as the flames on her opponent went tout, revealing a singed Fang before a boulder fell on her, dealing more damage and knocking her out.

The crowd had already exited the stadium in fear as Unmei recalled her bey yet continued to unleash dark streams of energy.

Some more nurses appeared and quickly took the gravely injured Fang away.

Every left, expect for Unmei and Max. Unmei continually sent off waves of dark energy, destroying all that remained of the bey arena.

Max growled in anger as he ran down to the arena and confronted Unmei.

"ENOUGH!" he erupted and his crest lit up, creating red energy streams that vaporized Unmei's dark ones.

"How dare you hurt them?" Max cursed as he approached Unmei and threw a right punch at her.

Unmei took the blow and blood leaked from her lip.

"You are a worthy opponent Max Smith," she said ignoring Max's punch. "I'm going to enjoy battling you."

"Fuck you!" Max roared as he threw a punch at Unmei, she caught it however and threw Max to the ground.

Unmei began to walk away and Max cried out, "I'm going to beat you! You hear me! I'm going to beat you!"

Unmei stopped walking. "Something evil is coming," she warned with an evil tone. "And this time no one will stop it. This time, we burn. This time, we suffer and die." She paused for a moment and then smiled. "And this time? This time the hero is the one who destroys the world."

"What?" was the only thing Max could say.

"I've seen the future you know," Unmei replied. "I saw it all happen. Watch out for it. Because it's coming soon. And I hope I'm apart of it."

Max was speechless as Unmei exited the stadium laughing, leaving one question on Max's mind.

Who's the hero that ends the world?

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Continued: Next Time-Scorpion's Sting! <strong>

**The grand final of the tournament is here and Team Nova Flare is facing Team Crimson! As the toughest of the tournament slug it out, Zygor continues to pull the strings. Morgan, now stronger from defeating Carlos, challenges both Simon and Blaze to a battle. Will the two manage to defeat Carlos and save the day, or will they fall victim to the "Scorpion's Sting?" **

**What did you think of the chapter! Did everyone like Luther? And what do you all think about he Realm of Order and the creepy and insanely powerful Unmei? Hope you all enjoyed this chapter and remember, ****PLEASE REVIEW! **


	33. Chapter 33: The Scorpion's Sting

**We get even closer to the end of 'Battle of the Dorms' arc and to the beginning of the 'Chaotic Order' arc where the story enters a new phase of 'darkness.' And once that arc finishes with an estimate of seven chapters, we conclude that arc and start on the Dark Oath arc. So, we have about 14 chapters in estimate left of this story. But for now, let's focus on finishing this arc. This is the third last chapter of the tournament, and we begin the final battles between Team Nova Flare and Team Crimson. **

**IMPORTANT NOTE MUST BE READ: ****Considering no one sent me a PM about drawing one of the characters for this story, I'm presuming everyone missed the small note so I'm putting it out again. **

**ANYWAY INTERESTED IN DRAWING ANY OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS OF THE STORY? ****This includes Max, Kiara, Simon and Blaze. I have the bey beasts covered, but I need some people to draw the characters. If anyone needs the info for them or would like to know more can PM me. **

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><p><strong>Now for the review responses. <strong>

**Turtleswift11: **It was an interesting chapter. Luther really is a nerd and a fan girl. Glad to know you thought the battles were good. Hope you can log back in again.

**Kawaiino Tenshi Kiki: **Happy to know you liked the chapter and the darkness is increasing the entire Team Crimson's powers and abilities. Yes the battles were intense and I thought it'd be good if Santina had a strategy for beating Regina, although it was always planned for Regina to win. Max is unique because of his age old self, and I'm glad you like Luther. His habit of quoting things is apart of his character, and expect it to happen a lot when he appears. He's sort of the 'break out character ' and 'comic relief' of the story. Yeah, Unmei is kind of insane. Although it's not really her. It's her 'dark side,' which has formed from all the tragedy in her life. We only got a brief look at his in a chapter and it will be elaborated on in her next 'big' appearance when she battles. We'll also find out more about the Realm of Order and Chaos as we go on. Good to know you enjoyed this chapter and adding on chapter 31 didn't trouble me at all. By informing me what I could have done better I have learnt and improved chapter 31.

**Alpha Dragonis: **Luther is a great character and when I originally created him in the flashbacks in Chapter 29 I didn't actually consider making him the character that will guide Max throughout the entire series. And I'm curious as to who are your top five favourite characters from this story. Oh yes, and the prediction is meant to be creepy and worrying. Also, the vision isn't a 'nearby' threat, which means it'll take some time before we actually see it. It also means it's going to be a worry on everyone's minds especially Max's.

**AKA99: **Glad to know you thought it was a great chapter, and I decided to add in that dialogue from the Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer for fun. I've watched the second one now, and I can't wait for that movie to come out! This is my favorite scene from the new trailer:

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><p><strong>Thor:<strong> (Holding his hammer in front of the team). "Interesting theory. I have a simpler one. You're all not worthy."

(Screeching noise, everyone turns to see the Iron Man armor possessed Ultron, missing an arm).

**Ultron:** (Hobbles into the room). "Worthy? How can any of you be worthy? You're all puppets. Tangled in strings. In strings." (Ultron picks up an Iron Man suit or robot and scrunches its head up).

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><p><strong>MarsTwilight: <strong>This story is designed to make your heart pound with each new chapter. Glad to know I got Unmei right and about what Unmei's backstory will be. Beside her present day history, Unmei will have an ancestor from the times of the Crimson Hero. Her dark side has all of her ancestor's memories and when Max and Unmei face off, we're going to not only see Unmei's horrible childhood, we're going to find out why she hates the Crimson Hero and Max. They weren't friends in their past lives. But that's for another chapter.

**CheckYourProfileYouMightKnowMe: **You must have really taken a liking to Luther if he's your favourite character ever now! While many people think Captain America is going to die in Age of Ultron I don't think its going to happen (even though you see his broken shield in the trailer) because the third Captain America film is 'Civil War' and it's about Iron Man standing with the government facing off against Cap and his 'Secret Avengers.' I highly doubt they're going to kill him off with this already declared. Maybe eventually but not now. Glad to know you liked the previous chapter and I'll definitely keep up the good work.

**TheNightmareBringer: **OMG! Thanks for loving this story so much and for also liking the characters! Luther was cool wasn't he and Zygor's plans are only going to get more malevolent from here. Glad you liked the confrontation with Unmei, and as we are going to find out in chapter 35, she is someone you definitely don't want to mess with.

**AlchemistWarriorDiamondDust: **I'm just as surprised that this story is as popular as it is. That's why I've expanded the story so that it will go into another season. Thanks for reviewing and I hope you will continue to do so.

**Time for the next chapter and we see Morgan, now even stronger from winning his battle against Carlos, slug it out against the team of Simon and Blaze. I'm making a team out of Simon and Blaze because I like the combination moves they can pull out. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter and ****PLEASE REVIEW! **

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><p><strong>Chapter 33: The Scorpion's Sting <strong>

Zygor laughed as he examined the chessboard on his table. He reached out with a gloved hand and pulled three black pieces, a castle, a horse and a bishop so that they faced four white pieces: the king, queen, bishop and horse.

Zygor licked his lips underneath his mask. "The tournament finale is finally here. My remaining puppets will now face off and continue to provide the Dark Lord energy. This will be a splendid show indeed."

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><p>Terry Pratt was excited. He had a date. He was always after some girl. And for the first time at the academy he had gotten one. The boy was tall and had a muscular build. He had fuzzy bouncy blond hair and light blue eyes. He wore a dark brown long sleeved button up shirt and black jeans. He had just taken a shower in preparation for his date. Now he was in the bathroom, standing in front of the mirror with a comb in his hand trying to get to figure out which hairstyle he should go with.<p>

"This date is going to be great," Terry stated with a smirk as he stashed the comb away into his jean pocket. "Anastasia is so beautiful. I can't wait for her to be my girlfriend." Terry chuckled lightly as he turned on the tap in front of him and washed his hands.

He didn't notice the door opening and a figure entering.

"Terry Pratt," the figure said as they entered. "What a pleasant surprise."

Terry turned to look at the figure and jumped. "Wait a minute," he stuttered. "You're…"

The figure smirked sinisterly. "It doesn't matter who I am. All that matters is, is the fact that you have been chosen."

Terry raised an eyebrow. "Chosen?"

"Oh yes," the figure snickered. "But let me warn you, what you have been chosen fr involves a very _painful _process."

Terry slowly began to back away.

"Stay away," he threatened as he held his fists out. "I have a hot date and there' no way I'm going to miss it because of some whack job like you."

The figure pulled a knife out of their pocket and held it to their mouth so they could lick the blade.

"You shouldn't be so rude," the figure stated as they approached Terry. "After all, being rude can get you into trouble."

"No," protested Terry in fear. "Leave me alone."

"Not until I have your _soul_!" cried the figure as they leapt at Terry and slashed his chest with their knife.

Terry screamed as blood spurted from his wound and he fell back against the sink he was just using.

The figure paused for a moment to lick the blood off of their knife before turning towards Terry.

"Back off!" Terry cried as he turned the tap behind him on full blast. As the figure lunged forward, Terry stepped out of the way and pushed his thumb up against the tap, sending the water spurting into the figure's face. While binded, the figure swung their knife, sending it straight into the mirror and shattering it while also scrapping the wall.

The figure growled in anger and slashed with their knife, clipping Terry's shoulder. He recovered however and stepped to the side and threw a punch into the figure's ribs, knocking them to the ground.

Terry exclaimed, "Stay down!" and attempted to run off but a shadow tendril shot from the figure's hand and caught him around the ankle. The figure stood up and pulled the tendril back, flinging Terry into one of the cubicles.

The figure entered and slammed the door behind themselves before thrusting Terry onto the toiler seat and plunging their knife into the boy's thigh.

"Gah!" Terry screamed in pain as the figure pulled the knife out and began slashing and stabbing him all over. There was blood now leaking from his legs, hands, arms, face and chest. Terry now had a black eye and bloody lip as well.

"Please," Terry begged as the figure continued to lick the blood off of their knife.

"Don't worry," the figure stated. "It'll be over soon."

"Why are you doing this?" stuttered Terry weakly.

"Because I want your soul!" the figure laughed before ripping open Terry's shirt to reveal his bloody chest. The figure reached into their pocket and took out a strange black glove of some sort and put it on.

"Now don't worry," assured the figure malevolently. "This will only hurt as much as being burnt alive by a flamethrower."

Terry went to say something but only ended up screaming at the top of his lungs as the figure placed their gloved hand onto his chest. Terry's eyes rolled back and his mouth fell open. His body went limb and the figure retracting their gloved hand holding a green energy orb.

"One down," the figure said sinisterly as they left the cubical and closed the door behind themselves. They took out their knife one last time and wiped the blood of it by slashing the cubical door.

"The master will be pleased," the figure mussed as they left, laughing as blood began to leak into the water that had flooded the floor from the tap.

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><p>Max frowned at the sight of the obstacle course in front of him. It was long, and it didn't help that it was raining; the water in his eyes was messing up his vision. Wiping the water away, Max squinted so he could examine the course properly. It started out with a set of hurdles before it came to tire tracks that you'd have to step through. Next up was the mud pit that you'd have to crawl through. After that was a wall and the only way to get over it was with a rope. It was cold outside and Max had been stupid enough to come out in a red t-shirt and blue shorts instead of trousers and a jumper. However one thing wasn't his fault: Mr. Meaner's intent on having a surprise PE class while all the other students who didn't take this class got to do whatever they liked. Max watched as the boy in front of him finished the course and Mr. Meaner gave the thumbs up to him.<p>

The Flame Swordsman blader sighed in annoyance as he broke into a run and leapt over the first hurdle. As he came to the second he didn't notice the puddle that had formed in front of it and slipped, sending him smashing straight into the side poll.

Mr. Meaner cringed from the sight but continued to time his student.

"Keep going Max!" he called out.

"Darn it," Max cursed as he stood up and climbed over the hurdle. He broke into a sprint and managed to jump the remaining hurdles. As he came to the tire tracks, the rain began to bucket down, soaking the tires.

"Just push through Max!" he cried as he began to run cross the tires, he nearly made it across but slipped at the end and fell sideways over into a puddle, drenching him. Max heard the laughter from some kids and growled in annoyance. Picking himself up, Max came to the mud pit and began to crawl through it. It wasn't actually a mud pit but one with dirt and rocks. But it was raining so much that the pit was now actually mud. Max groaned as he crawled through, covering himself in mud.

"Almost done Max," said Mr. Meaner from inside the shelter at the end of the course.

Max didn't reply as he grabbed the rope and pulled himself to the top of the wall, upon making it to the top, a huge gust of wind formed and blew Max off the wall. He screamed as he came crashing down into a muddy puddle at the bottom, which broke his fall.

Mr. Meaner stopped the timer and looked at it while shaking his head. He waited for Max, drenched and covered in mud to make his way over to the shelter. Some kids were snickering at Max while others, such as Team Nova Flare felt bad for him.

"How did I do?" grumbled Max.

"Bad," Mr. Meaner replied. "You're usually good at this stuff."

"Maybe if you didn't make me go last," Max answered.

"I know the conditions weren't the best for your turn but you can't blame everything of the weather," Meaner stated.

Max bit his lip as Meaner dismissed the class and they began the walk back to their rooms.

Simon, Blaze, Kiara and Kenny all ran up to Max as he trudged through the Summer Dorm's halls, leaving a trail of mud on the floor.

"I have a feeling Meaner doesn't like you," Simon commented.

Blaze snorted. "You think?"

Max turned to death stare her. "Not helping."

Kiara just shook her head at the sight.

"Maybe it would be better if you didn't arrive late to class?" suggested Kenny. "That way you wouldn't have to go last with anything."

Max stopped and scratched his chin. "Maybe," he replied with a shrug. "But then I'd have to get up early."

Blaze groaned in annoyance and smacked Max over the head. "YOU"RE SUPPOSED TO GET UP EARLY!" she snapped.

Max hissed in pain as he clutched his head. "I'm sorry my alarm clock doesn't work!" he defended.

Kiara face palmed herself. "It does work you just sleep through it," she observed.

"The tournament's tomorrow," Kenny said, changing the subject. "It's been a week since Unmei's appearance and the arena's finally fixed."

"We have a battle on our hands," Simon stated. "We have three dark power possessed bladers to deal with."

"They may have the dark power on their side but we have something more stronger," said Blaze. "Teamwork."

Kiara nodded. "Isn't that right Max?" She turned to the brunette who was starring off into space, deep in thought.

"Max," said Simon as he tapped Max on the shoulder.

"MAX SMITH LISTEN TO PEOPLE WHEN THEY'RE TALKING TO YOU!" Blaze snapped and literally knocked Max over with a crash.

"Hey!" whined Max in annoyance. "I was just thinking."

"About what?" asked Kenny.

Max paused for a moment and looked away. "Nothing of importance," he lied.

Simon, Blaze, Kiara and Kenny all exchanged confused glances before Max stood up and unlocked his door.

"See you tomorrow guys," Max said with a fake smile before closing the door behind him. He leant against it and listened carefully to make sure that his teammates were gone.

"Phew," he sighed with relief as he sat down against the door and rested his head on his hands. "That was a close one. They're already dealing with so much. I can't let them know about Unmei's vision."

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><p><em>Unmei stopped walking. "Something evil is coming," she warned with an evil tone. "And this time no one will stop it. This time, we burn. This time, we suffer and die." She paused for a moment and then smiled. "And this time? This time the hero is the one who destroys the world."<em>

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><p>Max cringed as he remembered Unmei's words. "What does that all mean?"<p>

The Flame Swordsman blader stood up and walked over to his closet were he pulled out a red zip-up hoddie jumper with a black stripe on the front, a plain black t-shirt and black cargo jeans.

"Guess its time for a shower," Max commented as he also took a white towel and headed for the showers.

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><p>The room was empty, and Max was alone. It didn't help that it was freezing cold and the hot water refused to turn on.<p>

He stepped out of the shower, freezing cold and immediately covered himself in a towel. His teeth were chattering crazily and he was shivering intensively.

"So…c…c…c…c…cold," he muttered as he began to put his clothes on. Still cold, he began to slowly walk away. He had taken the long way to the showers to think and now decided to cut through the bathroom as a short cut. However, upon coming into the bathroom he noticed water all over the floor.

"What the heck?" Max questioned as he bent down and touched the freezing cold liquid that was littering the floor. He stood up and noticed a tap running full blast right at the end. The mirror in front of it was smashed and slash marks were all over the wall around it.

Max squealed when he noticed something else in the water on the floor. Something red. Blood.

"Oh my god," Max stated uneasily as he followed the trail of blood to a cubical. The door had slash marks on it as well and there was a flow of blood coming out from underneath the door.

Max swallowed and carefully nudged the cubical door open to reveal a boy, about fourteen sitting on the seat, covered in blood and scratch marks. His eyes had rolled back into his head and saliva leaked from his mouth. It was Terry Pratt.

Max let out a high-pitched scream and leapt back in fear. He stopped however, when he noticed the mark on Terry's revealed chest. A chaos symbol was burnt into it, and it was causing the veins around it to stick out.

"Oh shit," was the only thing Max could say.

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><p>The nurses laid Terry onto the empty bed and began to frantically bandage his wounds. The boy was alive, but Mr. Jones was so shocked that this assault had occurred. He was with the nurses, examining the boy's beaten body. The coast guards had been called and they were in the bathroom right now investigating.<p>

Team Nova Flare waited in the main hospital wing room with the 'dark move' attacked patients. Carlos himself was now occupying a bed. Max had awakened his teammates about the incident while the kids in the wing had been awakened when Terry was taken in.

Terry was in another room, guarded incase the attacker would return to finish the job. No one was allowed in but nurses and Mr. Jones himself.

The group sat in silence.

"I can't believe this happened," Simon finally said, breaking the silence. "Why the heck would someone attack a kid?"

"It wasn't a normal attack," Max replied gravely.

"What do you mean?" asked Kiara.

"Terry had a chaos symbol burnt into his chest," Max answered as he lowered his head.

Everyone in the room gasped.

"But why was Terry attacked and beaten then?" questioned Carlos weakly from his bed.

Max shook his head. "I have no idea. But these chaos users must have had some reason for wanting to attack him."

"Maybe as warning or something?" suggested Kenny as he typed on his laptop.

"Or maybe Terry saw something he shouldn't have seen," Santina added.

"Or maybe it's the beginning of something," Taylor said.

Max stood up. "Guys, there's something I need to tell you."

"Tell us?" asked Simon.

Max nodded. "When you all left after Unmei defeated Fang," Max explained, pausing when Fang cringed in her bed. "I confronted her and she told me she saw the future."

"The future?" questioned Aiya.

"Yeah," Max continued. "She said something evil was coming. She said this evil was going to kill us. It was going to make us burn. But the thing that troubles me the most, it that she said the hero is the one who destroys the world."

Silence filled the room. No one really knew how to reply to this revelation.

"She could have just been messing with you," Blaze said but there was no confidence in her voice whatsoever.

Max bit his lip. "She wasn't lying. I saw the look on her face. She knew it was going to happen. She wants it to happen. She's taunting me about it but she's definitely isn't lying."

Taylor gulped. "So the worlds going to end?"

"It appears so," Max answered as he sat back down and covered his face with his hands.

Kiara stood up and walked over to Max before slapping him.

"Snap out of it!" she cried as Max fell off his seat. "Grow up! Okay so maybe Unmei's really did see the future but we all know the future isn't set in stone! We can change it! Besides we need to deal with the problem at hand! Like battling Team Crimson!"

Max, from the floor looked up at Kiara's fierce glare and smiled.

"You're right," he replied. "What was I thinking? We need to defeat Team Crimson and bring them to their senses."

Max stood up and looked at his team. They all nodded.

"It's time for the final battle," Simon stated.

"It's either Team Crimson or us," added Blaze.

"We stand as one," finished Kenny.

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><p>The students fearfully entered the stadium and took their seats. The bey arena had now been rebuilt with titanium in order to be able to take more blows and to last longer.<p>

Mr. Jones took his spot at the highest view box with all the other staff while the two teams sat at either end of the new titanium arena.

Jones stepped up to the microphone and tapped on it before speaking.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" he announced. "And great students! Welcome to the grand finals of the Battle of the Dorms Tournament!"

The crowd, who weren't completely scared, burst into applause.

"We've seen many furious, exciting and ferocious battles and now we've come to the end of the road," continued Jones. "Allow me to introduce the members of the Summer Dorm Team! Team Nova Flare!"

The crowd clapped and cheered as the spotlight fell on the Summer Dorm's team.

"Included in the team are Max Smith, Kiara Summers, Simon Nikso, Blaze Markaru and Kenny Mojo!"

The team waved to the cheering crowd.

"And opposing them is the fearsome Team of the Mars Dorm!" added Jones. "Give it up for team that has lost only one single battle! Team Crimson!"

The spotlight fell on the team but they received no applause. Instead, the kids exchanged uneasy and fearful looks. All three members had blank expressions on their faces.

Jones wasn't sure what to say. "This team includes Morgan Blue Robinson Abyss, Regina and Unmei!"

He once again waited for someone to cheer but no one did and he cleared his throat. "Now to decide the battles! Would you all please direct your attention to the screen?"

Everyone's eyes wandered to where the big screen was and watched as it showed six blank spaces, which fluttered with images. There were three spaces at the bottom representing Team Crimson and three at the top representing Team Nova Flare. Above these squares were the numbers 1,2 and 3, these were used to show the order of battles. Finally the images stopped and the battles were decided. The third battle was to be between Max and Unmei. The second to be between Kiara and Regina. And the first to be between Morgan and Blaze and Simon.

The students all exchanged confused looks.

Jones spoke up. "Under the request of Morgan himself, I have granted him the chance to battle two opponents. So its time for the chosen bladers to step up and battle."

Simon and Blaze looked at their teammates.

"Go and kick their buts," Max encouraged with a thumbs up.

"Whatever you do don't let him beat you," added Kiara.

"Win for Carlos," finished Kenny.

Simon and Blaze nodded before approaching the arena and examining it.

Morgan himself stood up and walked over to the arena, his hands shoved into his pockets.

The kids in the hospital wing watched the TV carefully, especially Carlos.

"So you wanted to battle both of us," stated Blaze.

Morgan shrugged. "Since I crushed Carlos my powers have increased exponentially. I'm strong enough to take on two highly skilled bladers such as yourselves. But I'll let you back out now if you're scared."

Simon shook his head. "No way are we backing out! We're going stop you and get the real Morgan back! For Carlos!"

"That's right you fraud!" added Blaze. "You're nothing compared to the real Morgan! He's ten times the blader you'll ever be!"

Morgan took his hands out of his pockets and grinned. "Fine! Because it's your funeral!"

He laughed hysterically as he ripped his launcher from his belt and attached Scorpion.

"We defeated Luke together," reminded Simon as he took out his launcher and attached Gryphos.

"So we can defeat him together," replied Blaze as she took out her own launcher and attached Phoenix.

Morgan's eyes widened as he starred down his foes. "Let the festival of horror begin!" he laughed.

"Bring it on!" challenged Simon.

"Let's do this!" added Blaze.

"Three!" cried Morgan.

"Two!" added Simon.

"One!" finished Blaze.

"Let It Rip!"

Dark Flame Scorpion, Gryphos Dragon and Armored Phoenix spun into battle, all colliding mid air before landing and circling the arena.

"You saw how I battled Carlos," stated Morgan as shadow tendrils began to leak from his body. "Now you get to have the experience as well!"

The tendrils from Morgan's body circled around them and created the same black translucent dome that appeared when he battled Carlos.

"Now there's no backing out," snickered Morgan. "This is a battle to the death."

Simon and Blaze cringed but regained their composure.

"We're not afraid of you!" declared Simon.

"You can pull out all the creepy magic tricks you want!" Blaze backed him up. "But it isn't going to be enough to take us down!"

Morgan licked his lips and shrugged. "Fine! But now you're going to feel the power of my Scorpion!"

"Go Gryphos!"

"Go Phoenix!"

"Go Scorpion!"

Gryphos and Phoenix began to circle Scorpion carefully, which was keeping its distance from the opposing beys.

"Go now Gryphos!" cried Simon and his bey sped forward and smashed into Scorpion, knocking it away towards Phoenix which also landed a blow and sent it back towards Gryphos. This continued a few times before Scorpion was sent flying right near the edge of the arena.

"How do you like that!" shot Blaze.

Morgan simply laughed. "You really are fools! You actually believe that attack hurt Scorpion!"

Simon and Blaze had not time to reply as Scorpion unleashed a shadow blast that knocked Gryphos and Phoenix back.

"Now it's my turn!" called out Morgan maliciously as his bey, glowing with dark energy smashed into Gryphos and Phoenix, sending them flying away.

Simon gritted his teeth while Blaze groaned.

"And it only get's better from here!" Morgan spat as he threw his hand out. "Show them your true power Scorpion!"

Shadow energy burst from Scorpion and constructed itself so that it took on the form of a scorpion tail with the stringer glowing red.

"Oh man," cursed Simon while Blaze bit her lip.

"Don't try this at home kids!" exclaimed Morgan as the shadow tail struck Gryphos, the impact sending Simon flying back into the dome with a crash. He cried out as the dome crackled with black electricity, shocking him before he fell to the ground.

"Simon!" cried Blaze in horror.

"I'm alright," Simon replied as he stood up and limped back to the arena.

"Good for you!" mocked Morgan. "But now it's Phoenix's turn to get trounced!"

Blaze went to make a command to her bey, but the shadow tail struck Phoenix first and sent it spiraling out of control. Blaze screamed as she felt an invisible force stab her in the back. She fell to her knees while blood leaked down her back.

"Oh shit," Max cursed as he angrily glared at Morgan who was laughing maniacally.

"That's some poison isn't it?" Morgan taunted.

"You monster," Blaze retorted as he stood up.

Morgan laughed. "Call me what you want but that doesn't change the fact that I've become invincible."

"Invincible?" questioned Simon with a frown.

Morgan smiled. "Oh yes. Since overpowering my ex-friend Carlos, my shadow powers have grown and now I am a god!" Morgan flung his arms out as shadow tendrils shot from his body and pressed against the ground, pushing him up so that they were like long extending legs.

Simon and Blaze looked up at Morgan in fear as his eyes turned black.

"Enough!" snapped Simon who dismissed Morgan's claims of being a 'god.' "No one's invincible! I'm going to prove it right now! Go Gryphos! Special Move! Burst Blast!"

Gryphos exploded into flames before rushing towards the edge of the arena which it circled and then flung itself into the air, crashing through the shadow tail and incinerating it.

Morgan screamed in pain as the tendrils around him vanished and he collapsed to the ground, feeling the burn that the tail had felt moments before.

"How dare you?" growled Morgan.

"Because we dare!" roared Simon as he flung his arm out and pointed at Scorpion. "Finish them off Gryphos!"

The bey, still alight with flames shot forward and smashed into Scorpion and sent it flying away.

Morgan grabbed at his chest as he felt the impact himself.

"Your turn Phoenix!" interrupted Blaze. "Show them whose boss!"

Morgan went to command a counter but was too late as Phoenix rammed his bey and sent it spiraling out of the control.

"Burst Blast again!" Simon shouted as his bey lit itself on fire again and sprinted towards the wobbling Scorpion.

"Special Move!" Morgan retorted. "Flaring Claw!"

Scorpion managed to regain its balance and vanished, causing Gryphos to stop, as it no longer had a target.

"It's going to appear out of nowhere," observed Blaze. "But where will it show?"

Morgan grinned like the Joker. "Show them the darkness Scorpion!"

The bey appeared from thin air, just as Blaze had predicted, and sent a shattering blow to Phoenix's spin track, sending it flying away.

Blaze cried out as she felt her legs buckle and she fell to her knees in pain.

"Simon watch out!" she called out as Scorpion sprinted towards Gryphos.

"Gryphos!" roared Simon as he punched the air in front of him. "Burst Blast again!"

The griffon/dragon hybrid appeared as Gryphos burst into flames and the Scarlet Scorpion appeared as well as its corresponding bey glowed red.

"FLARING CLAW!"

"BURST BLAST!"

The two beys hit dead on, sending sparks flying all over while the two bit beasts rammed into each other, creating a magnificent explosion of red energy.

"Mind if I but in?" interrupted Blaze as Phoenix charged forward and smashed into Scorpion, sending it flying away while the flaming armored bird appeared and bulldozed the scarlet Scorpion out of the way, shattering it and sending Morgan flying back into the dome with a scream.

Blaze fist pumped the air. "Score one for the good guys!" she cheered.

Morgan, still pushed up against the dome, let out a high pitch scream. Shadow tendrils exploded from him and lowered him safely to the ground. His veins began to pop out on his face and he growled in anger.

"SPECIAL MOVE!" he screamed as his bey amazingly managed to recover from the previous sneak attack and began to spin faster. "SUPER STAB ATTACK!"

Scorpion glowed crimson as it charged forward and sent a shattering hit at Gryphos, cracking its spin track and sending it flying into the air.

Simon coughed blood as a slash mark arched across his chest.

"Simon!" cried Blaze in horror.

"I'm not out yet," stuttered Simon weakly before going into a rage. "Gryphos!" he called out, standing tall. "Wingtip Scorcher!"

As Gryphos began to fall back down to the arena, it set itself ablaze with the dragon/griffon hybrid flying alongside it.

Morgan's eyes widened as Gryphos smashed into his bey, sending it spinning out of control. He then spat blood as a wound appeared across the back of his head.

"You bastard!" he cursed in a rage.

"Now Blaze!" called out Simon and his teammate nodded.

"Phoenix!" she shouted as her bey closed in on Scorpion. "Special Move! Fire Tornado!"

From Phoenix erupted a swirling mass of flames that shot up into the air to form a spinning vortex of fire: a fire tornado to be precise.

Morgan screamed as Scorpion was caught in the swirling fire tornado and was sent soaring into the air while being burnt by the searing heat.

"Now Gryphos!" ordered Simon, throwing his arm out as his bey shot to the edge of the arena, spun up the side of it and went shooting into the air.

"What are you scheming?" questioned Morgan in pain from the heat.

"This!" retorted Simon as Gryphos flew above Scorpion. As the two beys began to fall, Gryphos lit itself on fire once again. "Skydiving Blaze Strike!"

Morgan cried out in horror as Gryphos came on top of his bey and sent it plowing into the arena with a mighty crash, sending smoke flying up to block everyone's view.

Simon sighed with relief. "I think we got him," he said to Blaze with a smile. It faded however as a scarlet scorpion bit beast emerged from the smoke and shrieked.

Morgan himself appeared from the smoke, the veins on his face turning black and now popping out of his arms as well.

"SPECIAL MOVE!" he screamed. "POISON FURY!"

Before either Simon or Blaze could react, the Scorpion rammed its two claws into the opposing beys, the impact sending the Gryphos and Phoenix bladers flying back into the dome with a crash.

"Again Scorpion!" laughed Morgan as the scarlet arachnid moved it claws up to land a finishing blow on Gryphos and Phoenix.

"Blaze do something!" panicked Simon.

Blaze thought frantically and a plan formed in her head. "Phoenix!" she cried out and the flaming armored bird shot out of her bey and intercepted Scorpion's attack.

"Say what?" cursed Morgan as the Phoenix used its claws to slash the Scorpion across the face and then flew above it where it gave a fierce screech.

Morgan's eyes widened when he realized what Blaze planned to do.

"NO!"

"Oh yes!" answered Blaze as she threw her hand into the air. "Special Move! Immortal Flame!"

The Phoenix cried out one last time before erupting into a mighty explosion, which rained down onto the Scorpion, shattering it while sending Morgan into a breakdown of pain.

"Good work Blaze," complemented Simon to his teammate as he and Blaze hobbled back over to the arena from the dome.

Morgan's eye twitched with fury as he recovered from the previous attack, his clothes singed and burn marks all over his body.

Simon and Blaze themselves also weren't in the best shape either; they were littered with cuts and bruises and were breathing heavily.

"This is far from over," seethed Morgan as he spat blood from his cut lip. "And when its' over you're all going to be dead!"

"You overestimate your chances!" taunted Blaze.

Simon nodded and added, "You're the one who's going to lose this battle."

Morgan laughed. "We'll see who get's the last laugh! Ad I guarantee it's going to be me! Run Scorpion!"

His bey obeyed and began to spin around the arena creating a scarlet energy trail.

"Sprint Gryphos!" cried Simon as his bey began to follow and left a flaming trail behind itself.

"Follow them Phoenix!" added Blaze as he bey followed and also left a flaming trail behind.

"Special Move!" roared Morgan. "Flammable Flames!"

Scorpion spun towards Phoenix, itself now on fire and clashed with the opposing bey. Sparks flew, but Scorpion easily pushed Phoenix back and Blaze groaned.

"Here I come!" interrupted Simon as Gryphos in a charge smashed into Scorpion from the side, knocking it out of the way and rescuing Phoenix.

"I think it's time I pulled out the big guns!" snapped Morgan as shadow energy began to flow from him. "Special Move! Burning Sting!"

The scarlet arachnid appeared once more and charged an energy ball on its stinger.

"Oh man," cursed Simon as the Scorpion prepared to throw its attack at him.

"Dinner is served," hissed Morgan as he licked his lips. "Now die!"

The Scorpion flung the energy ball at the center of the arena, and it exploded sending the energy wave smashing into Phoenix and Gryphos.

Simon and Blaze cursed as they felt the impact themselves and their beys were pushed back.

"Then I'll fight fire with fire!" roared Simon as Gryphos ran to the edge of the arena and shot up into the air.

"BRING IT!" retorted Morgan with a wicked laugh.

"Gryphos: Descend!" exclaimed Simon as he threw his hand into the air. "Special Move! Inferno Destruction Ultimatum!"

Gryphos turned into a flaming torpedo and shot down towards Scorpion at maximum speed.

"GO!" shouted Simon with all he had and the griffon/dragon hybrid appeared beside its bey, letting out a fierce roar as it flew down.

Morgan waved his finger. "I'm sorry but I must interject! Scorpion! BURNING STING!"

The scarlet Scorpion charged its stinger once again and threw it at Gryphos, the two attacks creating an explosion and canceling each other out.

"I think we should end this," said Blaze to her partner. "Time for a combination move."

Simon nodded. "Yes, the combo we used against Luke should work on him."

Morgan cracked his knuckles, gaining his opponents attention. "Let's finish this once and for all! Once I beat you I shall be almighty!"

"Let's win this!" cried Blaze as her bey began to circle the arena at high speeds.

"For Carlos!" added Simon as Gryphos began to spin around the arena alongside Phoenix.

"Then I'll win for MYSELF!" responded Morgan as his bey charged with dark energy. Morgan himself began to build up dark energy in his hands.

"Soar Phoenix!" ordered Blaze as her bey shot into the air.

"Fly Gryphos!" commanded Simon as his bey flew into the air.

"Flame Tornado!" exclaimed Blaze as a tornado formed around her bey and the Phoenix appeared within it.

"Gryphos: Descend! Turbo Inferno Destruction Ultimatum!" cried Simon as fire as powerful and as hot as a supernova surrounded his bey and a griffon/dragon hybrid appeared with it. The Phoenix and the Griffon/Dragon flew down in formation.

Simon and Blaze looked at each other and nodded.

"COMBINATION MOVE!" they both screamed simultaneously. "TURBO INFERNO FIRE VORTEX!"

The two moves melded together to form a supernova spinning torpedo, which encased the two soaring bit beasts and the two beys which flew down next to each other.

The crowd gasped as they stared at the powerful and magnificent move.

"DARK MOVE!" erupted Morgan as he threw two dark energy balls from his hands at Scorpion. The bey erupted with dark lightning and the Scarlet Scorpion appeared with a dark stinger. " DARK PULSE STINGLASH!"

Using its stinger like a laser, the scarlet arachnid unleashed a dark lightning stream that clashed with the combination move performed by Simon and Blaze. The two colliding attacks filled the dome with red and black energy and created a strong wind that pushed the three bladers back.

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" they all shouted as their three beys clashed with each other, sending sparks flying throughout the whole dome.

"Come on!" cheered Max, Kiara and Kenny from the sidelines along with the rest of the crowd.

"You go guys," Carlos whispered to himself as he watched the battle from the hospital wing. All the other kids were watching intently as well.

All three bladers mustered up the last strength they had and unleash it all.

"SCORPION!"

"PHOIENIX!

"GRYPHOS!"

The three clashing beys once again summoned their bit beasts which all lunged at each other, filling the dome with a blinding white light. The dome, unable to hold the tremendous power shattered from the attacks and created a giant explosion. The crowd was in awe and watched as the smoke from the attack began to clear. Everyone gasped as they saw all three beys had stopped spinning at the bottom of the arena.

Simon, Blaze and Morgan were still standing, now even more badly bruised, singed and cut. However as the smoke around Morgan faded, everyone could see that his eyes were back to normal and his veins were no longer sticking out.

"Morgan," whispered Carlos with happiness and hope.

"Simon, Blaze," coughed Morgan. "You saved me. Thank you. You saved me…"

He stopped suddenly, as blood leaked from his mouth similar to how it had for Carlos and he fell to the ground unconscious.

"The first match it is a draw!" announced Mr. Jones as some nurses came and took Morgan away along with the injured Simon and Blaze.

As they came past their team Max said, "You did good guys."

They smiled weakly at him before being taken away.

"We freed Morgan," said Kiara. "But there's still two of them left."

Max and Kenny turned to see Unmei and Regina, the two completely unfazed by Morgan's loss. Regina however had a twisted smirk plastered across her face.

Carlos sighed with relief as he fell back against his pillow. A tear fell from his eye.

"Morgan," he said quietly. "You're free."

Suddenly Carlos screamed and clutched his chest in pain. The kids around him gasped in shock and a nurse immediately rushed in to hold him down as he thrashed violently. Blood began to leak from his nose and mouth as he continued to scream. That was when the black dots appeared suddenly all over his right arm and he stopped thrashing. He closed his eyes and fell back against his bed.

"Oh no!" cried Aiya in horror. "Not again!"

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><p><strong>To Be Continued: Next Time – Atalanta's Assault! <strong>

**With Morgan's battle against Simon and Blaze coming to a draw, all bladers have been injured. However Morgan has been freed but has fallen into a coma along with Carlos. Now, Regina stands to fight Kiara, both intending to win. Does Kiara and Solaria have what it takes to defeat Regina and her dark powered Atalanta, or will Regina prove herself to be stronger and crush any hopes Kiara has of winning? **

**What did you all think? Did you all like the battle and what about the 'Figure' that attacked Terry? Technically this is the start of the "Purge" and Terry is the first victim of it. The 'Figure's' identity will be revealed eventually and I'm not going to give any big hints. However, it's a character we've seen before. Also, Terry knew who the figure was because he recognized them. So, who is it? Let me know what you thought of the chapter and who you think the figure is when you ****REVIEW! WHICH I HOPE YOU WILL! PLEASE PRETTY PLEASE REVIEW/FAVOURITE/FOLLOW!**


	34. Chapter 34: Atalanta's Assault

**Hey everyone! Sorry for such a late update but I fell sick after I updated one of my other stories. I woke up with a sore throat and dizziness. I couldn't concentrate on anything properly for long periods of time so I wasn't able to complete the chapter. Even after I recovered I had to catch up on schoolwork and I only just found the time to actually write again. But here is the next chapter! In this, we see Kiara and Solaria slug it out against Regina and Atalanta! While this battle probably won't be as spectacular as the one between Kiara and Jaden, I still hope you all enjoy it! Remember to ****REVIEW! ****But before the chapter, the review response. **

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><p><strong>TheMidnightEcho: <strong>Okay, let's start with the second question. Because Morgan attacked Carlos and Morgan had just drawn in a battle, he reacts by falling into a coma due to the dark energy within him destabilizing. And the first question. The figure is **(Bleep). **Sorry, that would be a massive spoiler if I told you. I can only give away small clues such as this: the figure is a character that has appeared before and Terry (the attacked) recognized the figure. Also, the figure will reappear very soon. (Wink, wink, like this chapter).

**Turtleswift11: **It was a great chapter wasn't it! Thanks for telling me that I might be one of the best authors for writing bey battles. I will keep writing!

**TheNightmareBringer: **Morgan is finally free from Zygor's grasp thanks to Simon and Blaze! Although like Artemis, it means he's going to fall into a coma. I'm going to try and make this battle as good as possible! It may be hard to top the 'Yin VS Yang' chapter battle especially because there was so much behind it and a lot of tension between Kiara and Jaden. I actually felt sorry for Terry when I was writing his scene, I don't like having to torture characters right when they first appear but it was necessary for the "Purge" storyline and the "Chaotic Order" arc's sort of prelude.

**Alpha Dragonis: **Was it two in a week? I thought it was a week later update. Oh well, it was still a fairly quick update. I had some spare time to write the previous chapter anyway and I want to finish this story before the end of the year so I can start on next season. I'm thinking of releasing the final chapter on the 31st of December and then releasing the first chapter of season 2 on January the 1st. Sorry the previous chapters battle wasn't as good as the one with Luke, I'll try harder next time.

**AKA99: **Yes, it was a tie. And you're right that Morgan physically and mentally weakened Simon and Blaze during the battle so they couldn't be just as powerful at the end. Although they get an A+ for trying, especially because they created a combination move. They do make a pretty good tag team don't they? As for the drawings, you don't have to worry about it for now, I have it covered with Kawaiino Tenshi Kiki.

**Kawaiino Tenshi Kiki: **Glad to know you thought the chapter was beyond your expectations and that you thought it was amazing! Yes Morgan is finally free for the darkness…or is he? Thankfully the moment when Carlos had his little fit worked with putting everyone on edge, which was my goal. Also, you said you mentally screamed when you visualized Terry's beaten body. Well, there's a sort of uncut version of this scene that I originally wrote. It was much more violent and longer then the one's everyone read especially because it involved the 'figure' actually ripping out apart of Terry's skin and bones. And loads more! You'd probably scream out loud if you read the uncut version. But I toned it down and rewrote it as I thought it was a bit gory even for a T rated story. Terry is alright, he survived in the posted version and in the uncut version. Although he was more injured in the uncut version. Also, I'll be sending you the info for drawing Max soon as well.

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><p><strong>Time for the next chapter and the battle between Kiara and Regina! Sorry that this chapter took so long to bring out. Hope you enjoy it nonetheless. <strong>

**AND THIS STORY NOW HAS OVER ****100,000**** WORDS! I CAN'T BELIEVE I ACTUALLY WROTE THAT MUCH! **

**Remember to ****REVIEW**** once you're done reading!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 34: Atalanta's Assault <strong>

As Carlos slipped into his coma, the now freed Morgan was taken into the hospital wing on a stretcher. He himself was not moving and his eyes were closed.

Tears began to leak from Aiya's eyes. The other kids themselves were in shock and couldn't speak.

The nurses quickly attached drips and other mechanical devices to Carlos before placing Morgan down on the bed next to him and attaching similar devices also.

"I can't believe this," Aiya said quietly. "Both Carlos and Morgan, in comas."

At that moment, Taylor let out a high-pitched scream from his bed. He clutched his chest in pain and his eyes widened with horror. He fell from his bed to the floor and thrashed violently, coughing up blood and waving his arms and legs in the air.

The nurses frantically ran over to Taylor and helped him back onto the bed before strapping him down. He thrashed a little more for a bit before he stopped and his eyes closed.

A single word left his lips as he fell into his coma.

"Chaos…"

The room fell silent and all eyes were on the three bladers who had all fell into comas. They watched in horror as black dots began to appear all over their bodies.

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><p>Max, Kenny and Kiara watched as Simon and Blaze appeared having been brought into the locker rooms to have their wounds bandaged up. They were injured, but well enough to watch the final battles for the tournament.<p>

As they approached and sat down, Max gave them a thumbs up.

"Good job guys," he congratulated. "We freed Morgan."

"True," answered Simon. "But we only drew against him, and the chances are he's fallen into a coma along with Carlos and Taylor."

Max frowned. "Way to spoil the mood," he stated.

"Give him a break," groaned Blaze as she cracked her neck. "He just fought one of the toughest battles in his life. Or course, he did have my help."

"That combination move was so awesome!" cheered Kenny as he typed the data into his laptop. "They're so rare to perform! It's one thing to use two moves at once in a joint fashion! But it's a whole other thing to actually _fuse _special moves together! Had you two practiced that?"

Simon shook his head. "No," he replied. "It was actually something that we came up with on the spot."

Blaze nodded in agreement and added, "It just came to is. But I'm not complaining because it kicked but."

"It was pretty cool to watch your combination move and Morgan's dark move clash," commented Kiara.

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><p><em>"<em>_COMBINATION MOVE!" they both screamed simultaneously. "TURBO INFERNO FIRE VORTEX!" _

_The two moves melded together to form a supernova spinning torpedo, which encased the two soaring bit beasts and the two beys, which flew down next to each other. _

_"__DARK MOVE!" erupted Morgan as he threw two dark energy balls from his hands at Scorpion. The bey erupted with dark lightning and the Scarlet Scorpion appeared with a dark stinger. " DARK PULSE STINGLASH!" _

_Using its stinger like a laser, the scarlet arachnid unleashed a dark lightning stream that clashed with the combination move performed by Simon and Blaze. The two colliding attacks filled the dome with red and black energy and created a strong wind that pushed the three bladers back. _

_"__GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" they all shouted as their three beys clashed with each other, sending sparks flying throughout the whole dome. _

_"__Come on!" cheered Max, Kiara and Kenny from the sidelines along with the rest of the crowd. _

_"__You go guys," Carlos whispered to himself as he watched the battle from the hospital wing. All the other kids were watching intently as well. _

_All three bladers mustered up the last strength they had and unleash it all. _

_"__SCORPION!" _

_"__PHOIENIX! _

_"__GRYPHOS!" _

_The three clashing beys once again summoned their bit beasts which all lunged at each other, filling the dome with a blinding white light. The dome, unable to hold the tremendous power shattered from the attacks and created a giant explosion. The crowd was in awe and watched as the smoke from the attack began to clear. Everyone gasped as they saw all three beys had stopped spinning at the bottom of the arena. _

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><p>Max smiled. "That was pretty awesome."<p>

"Will Regina and Kiara please step up to the arena for their battle!" announced Mr. Jones.

Kiara stood up and made her way over to the arena.

"Go and win," said Max.

Kiara turned back to look at Max and replied, "Would you doubt me."

Regina, expressionless, wandered over to the arena to face her opponent. Her hair hung over her face and she lacked her usual evil feel.

"It's the end of the line Regina," claimed Kiara as she brushed her hair out of her face and starred down her opponent.

Regina bit her lip and starred down at the ground.

"No one tells me what to do," she answered bitterly. "I'm going to win Kiara. I've seen your power. I saw how you bet Jaden."

"Then you should be afraid," warned Kiara. "My powers have gotten stronger since then and me and Solaria are much more fierce."

Regina gritted her teeth and looked up at Kiara with eyes full of anger and rage.

"You don't get it do you!" she screamed as shadow tendrils slipped from her body and surrounded her. "I know how to beat you! You think you're so high and mighty! But I'm going to crush you and suck your energy dry! You are nothing before me! You mock me by simply challenging me!"

"Excuse me!" retorted Kiara, insulted. "Are you saying you're better then me and that I'm not a worthy opponent?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying!" hissed Regina wickedly. "You are not worthy to battle someone with abilities such as mine!"

Kiara growled in anger and bunched up her fists.

"What makes you so special!" she asked in irritation.

"Because my powers have gone up a level!" declared Regina as the tendrils around her wrapped her up into a cocoon of dark energy. As the cocoon broke away, Regina reappeared. She now wore black armour, minus a helmet. Her hair had changed so that her red curly hair's streaks were now black. Her bright green eyes changes so that they were now dark green. Her fair skin had changed so that she was now pale.

Max gasped. "What the heck?"

Kiara starred confused at Regina's transformation.

"Is this supposed to scare me?" she questioned.

Regina licked her lips. "No," she answered. "It's supposed to make you lose!"

A part of Regina's armour stretched out and formed an arm, which took out her launcher and her bey before setting it. A second armoured hand also appeared and took hold of the string launch.

Kiara pondered what was occurring for a moment but shook off her fears and took out her bey. Gazing at Solaria, she could almost feel her ancient ancestor telling her to win.

"Bring it on Regina!" declared Kiara as she readied her bey. "Because I plan to throw back anything you hit me with!"

Regina licked her lips and said, "Say your goodbyes will you still can."

"I refuse to back away in fear!" retorted Kiara.

"You show her who's boss Kiara!" cheered Max.

"Prove who's the best!" added Kenny.

"Three!" hissed Regina.

"Two!" added the crowd.

"One!" finished Kiara.

* * *

><p>Ninel sighed as she heard another cry from the room next to hers. Her friend, Anastasia had been devastated and freaked out when she discovered that Terry Pratt had been hospitalized in an attack right before their date. She had done her best to comfort her friend, and the two decided not to go to the Tournament. But there was no stopping Anastasia from freaking out every five minutes.<p>

"Here we go again," Ninel said to herself as she opened her door and walked down to the next room. She knocked on the door lightly and said, "Anastasia are you okay."

"No," Ninel's friend squeaked from the other side of the door. "I just want to be alone right now."

"Alright," answered Ninel as she backed away from the door.

'I still can't believe a student was assaulted and beaten to near death,' thought Ninel. 'And now Terry is in a coma. The cost guards couldn't find anything that could lead them to the culprit. The weapon was taken with the attacker and there are no fingerprints or DNA. It's a dead end. But that doesn't mean there could still be a way to piece things together.'

Ninel turned and walked down the hall and exited the building. She then began to walk towards the Summer Dorm.

Ninel was wearing a black sleeveless dress that reached her knees while a silver version of the Butterfly Cage by Lie Sang Bong was worn over it. A pair of silver strapped platform sandals were worn on her feet and she also wore a silver snowflake pendant and black fingerless gloves.

As she finally came to the Summer Dorm's toilets, she pushed the door opened and entered. The cubicle that the attack had taken place in and the mirror that had been shattered had been sealed off with tape. The water had been mopped up and all the blood had been cleaned. If the attacker had left a clue of any sort, it would have been well hidden.

Ninel approached the shattered mirror and examined it. Slash marks and broken pieces of glass. Nothing that would point to the attacker. She turned and wondered over to the cubicle. This had been checked the most but no evidence had come from it.

Ninel frowned. "Maybe I was hoping too much. Or maybe I was hoping the kidnapper would return to the scene of the crime."

Suddenly, the lights in the bathroom flickered before going out, causing Ninel to gulp.

"A power failure?"

"Not exactly," answered a voice.

"Who's there?" demanded Ninel as she froze and squinted into the darkness for someone.

"You wanted the attacker to return to the scene of the crime didn't you?" answered the voice. It was the figure that had attacked Terry.

Before Ninel could move or say anything, a knife came down onto her shoulder and she screamed in pain.

"How do you like that!" taunted the figure as they retracted their weapon and kicked Ninel to the ground. She cursed as she smashed into the hard cold floor and clutched her wounded shoulder.

"Why did you attack Terry?" Ninel asked as she edged her away over to the door.

The Figure licked the blood off their knife as they kept their distance from Ninel so they couldn't be seen.

"Answer me!" snapped Ninel, as she got closer to the door. She couldn't see the figure and she hoped they weren't near her.

"It's my job," the figure finally replied. "The Purge has begun."

"Purge?" questioned Ninel as she pulled herself up by clinging onto a sink.

"That's right," the figure responded. "The Purge has begun and Terry was the first sacrifice to the shadows."

'What the heck?' thought Ninel as he kicked the door open and sprinted out into the hall. The lights had gone out here as well, but there was still light coming in through the windows.

"You can run but you can't hide!" the figure spat as the leapt onto Ninel and pulled her to the ground.

Ninel gasped as she looked into the eyes of her attacker. It was impossible. How could the attacker be this person?

"No it can't be…" stuttered Ninel in shock. "This must be a trick…the attacker couldn't have been you…"

Before she could say anymore, the figure brought the knife down on her thigh and Ninel screamed once again.

"How do you feel!" mocked the figure maliciously.

"You bitch!" cried Ninel as she sent her foot straight into the figure's face, knocking them back.

Ninel scrambled to her feet and sucker punched her attacker before elbowing them to the ground.

'I have to get out of here!' she thought frantically as she began to hobble away.

But the figure had already recovered and sprung onto Ninel pushing her into the wall. Ninel however sent her elbow flying into the figure's stomach and knocked them away. Not giving them the chance to regain balance, Ninel stepped in and smacked the figure in the head with both of her hands.

"You bitch!" the figure screamed as the fell back, clutching their head in pain.

Ninel went to turn when the figure threw their knife at her, the blade chipping her cheek.

"I'm back!" the figure laughed as they came upon Ninel and sent their fist ramming into her chest. Ninel coughed as she fell to the ground from the blow and the figure shot out a shadow tendril to pick up their knife.

"Leave me alone!" demanded Ninel as she slid back to the wall.

"Never," answered the figure as the lunged at Ninel with their knife.

Ninel however dodged to the side and the knife plowed into the wall. Before the figure could pull it out, Ninel was on her feet and backhanded the figure in the face.

"Fuck you!" the figure growled as they turned to Ninel and threw a punch. Ninel caught it however and sent a front kick to the figure's knee. The figure screamed and fell to their knees in pain.

"Told you to leave me alone!" declared Ninel before being cut off by the figure's growl.

"I'll kill you for that!" they interrupted as they leapt at Ninel's legs and dug their nails into her flesh.

Ninel screamed in pain before managing to throw the figure off. She stepped in and sent a roundhouse kick to the figure's head, knocking them back. But they weren't giving up. They ran forward and managed to catch Ninel's downward kick. With Ninel off balance, they took the chance to ram her into the wall and punch her square in the jaw.

"Gah!" Ninel cried, as she tasted blood.

"That's not all you're getting," hissed the figure as they grabbed Ninel by the shoulders. But Ninel took this chance to knee the figure, knocking them back. Ninel pushed them to the ground and sent her foot ramming into the back of their head.

"Time to get out of here!" Ninel said as she turned and ran.

"Don't even think about it!" roared the figure as shadow tendrils shot from their fingertips that wrapped around Ninel.

"No!" she cried as she squirmed in the shadow's grip and the figure approached.

"Hush!" hissed the figure as they placed their finger on Ninel's lips before pointing at the wall. The shadows obeyed by pinning Ninel to it with a crash. The impact itself caused Alicorn to fall from Ninel to the ground.

The figure pulled out the same strange black glove they had used on Terry and put it on.

"What are you doing?" asked Ninel.

"I'm going to extract your soul," answered the figure as they reached out towards Ninel's chest.

"No!" protested Ninel when her bey, lying on the ground lit up with light blue energy and encased her in a bubble. As the figure's gloved hand touched the bubble, a powerful electricity blast shocked them and vaporized the glove. The figure stumbled back screaming while the shadows around Ninel vanished.

The figure, realizing Ninel was free, grabbed their knife and smashed the handle into Ninel's head, knocking her to the ground and rendering her unconscious. Blood leaked from the wound on Ninel's head and the lights remained out while the figure fled into the shadows.

* * *

><p>"Let It Rip!"<p>

The crowd cheered as Atalanta and Solaria sprung from their respective launchers and landed in the arena. The two beys immediately charged at each other and unleashed an explosion of sparks.

"Go Solaria!" cried Kiara.

"Go Atalanta!" cried Regina.

The two beys eventually moved back when it was obvious their normal attacks weren't going to settle anything.

Regina spat at the ground.

"You sicken me with your weak attacks," she cursed.

Kiara growled. "What?"

"You heard me!" Regina loafed. "Your attacks are nothing!"

Kiara frowned in annoyance. "Oh yeah? Let's see if this is weak! Solaria! Special Move! Firestorm Fury!"

The Lioness appeared from its respective bey and roared, unleashing a huge wave of fire that was sent streaming towards Atalanta.

Regina just shook her head. "You think a pathetic move like that can hurt the great and powerful Regina?" she asked bluntly.

Kiara bit her lip and replied with "yes," with a hint of irritation.

"That answer is incorrect!" snapped Regina as she threw her armored hand into the air and cried, "Special Move! Whirling Hurricane!"

As the fire wave approached Atalanta, it began to pick up speed and the air around it began to rush around before shooting up and forming a hurricane.

Kiara's eyes widened and watched as the fire wave was repelled and sent back towards Solaria.

"Oh shit."

Regina licked her lips. "Die you little bitch!" she snarled wickedly.

"It ain't over till the fat lady sings!" Kiara retorted. "Solaria! Quick! Flame Barrier!"

From Solaria appeared the ruby lioness, which let out a roar and then formed into a sphere around its bey.

"What!" snapped Regina.

"You're not the only one with tricks!" declared Kiara as the barrier around her bey protected it from the redirected fire wave.

Regina thought for a moment. "I guess I may have to try to defeat you after all."

"No shit Sherlock!" Kiara shot, angering Regina.

"How dare you!" the dark blader screamed. "I am Regina! The greatest blader to ever live! No one shall mock me and live!"

Kiara laughed. "You don't scare me!"

"You should be afraid!" erupted Regina as she threw her hand out. "Atalanta! Special Move! Water Shards!"

Atalanta retreated to Regina's end of the dome and began to spin extremely fast.

Kiara watched carefully as a blue liquid that she assumed was water began to materialize around her opponent's bey.

"Get ready Solaria," she warned quietly.

"They say the dinosaurs were killed by the meteorite!" loafed Regina. "But I think they were killed by the ICE AGE!"

The water around Atalanta froze and the broke apart to create bullets made of ice. Kiara's eyes widened as the ice shards shot towards her bey.

"Move Solaria!" she commanded desperately and her bey dodged to the side avoiding three ice shards.

"You know the old saying, killing two birds with one stone?" Regina asked malevolently. "WELL I'M GOING TO KILL TWO BIRDS WITH INFINITE STONES!"

A horde of ice shards began rapidly firing from Atalanta towards the defenseless Solaria.

Kiara gritted her teeth in annoyance.

'Just once,' she thought. 'Just once, can't I battle someone who isn't power crazed.'

"Die! Die!" screamed Regina in joy as Solaria was buffeted by dozens and dozens of ice shards, sending the fire bey spinning out of control every time it was hit.

Max cringed. "This isn't good."

Kenny himself was typing on his laptop and also had a bad feeling about the battle. "Each time Solaria is hit, it's losing 5% of its balance. If it gets hit enough times, Kiara will lose."

Blaze gritted her teeth while Sam gripped the sides of his chair in suspense.

Kiara watched as Solaria continued to be smashed around by the storm of ice shards.

'Think Kiara, think,' she thought frantically. 'There's got to be something you can do. You're the Queen of Order. Calm down and focus.' She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Blaze frowned as she watched this. "Is she closing her eyes?" she asked in disbelief.

Kenny adjusted his glasses. "It would appear so," he answered.

Max smirked. "Focus Kiara. Show her true power," he whispered.

As Kiara was in thought, she could still see Solaria being hit by ice shards.

'Those shards move too fast for me to dodge,' she thought. 'So I need someway to counter it. A simple fire attack wouldn't be enough. But maybe if I use a tactic just like hers.'

Kiara's eyes burst open and she declared, "Roar Solaria!"

Solaria managed to recover from the attacks and began to increase its spin.

"Really?" mussed Regina. "That kind of move won't get you far."

Kiara smirked. "I'm taking a page out of your book," she explained. "Spin Solaria!"

As her bey continued to spin faster, it produced a ring of swirling fire around itself that deflected and melted away the oncoming ice shards.

Regina's right eye twitched in annoyance. "How could such a pathetic move stop mine?" she demanded.

"It's called strategy!" retorted Kiara. "Now go Solaria! Special Move! Fire Pellets!"

The ring around Solaria broke apart into a bombardment of fire bullets, which shot forward and clashed with the ice shards raining from Atalanta.

'How could a little bitch like her actually hold me back?' Regina thought in irritation.

"Yo, Regina!" called out Kiara, catching her opponent's attention. "Game on!"

Solaria sprung away from its spot and spun around the edge of the arena before coming down and smashing into Atalanta. The storm of ice shards and fire pellets ended while Atalanta spun away.

"Score one for the good guys," cheered Kiara.

"I'm not done yet!" snapped Regina as she threw her hand out. "Atalanta! Special Move! Ground Shaker!"

Atalanta spun into the middle of the arena where its performance tip began to vibrate.

"Uh oh," commented Simon. "It's that move that creates a miniature earthquake."

"I'm sure Kiara can get around it," assured Max.

Regina burst into laughter as the piece of arena Atalanta was on shot up into he air and the arena that was left began to crumble into pieces like a cookie.

"What now Summers?" taunted Regina.

"Solaria!" declared Kiara. "Sprint!"

The ruby Lioness appeared from its bey and roared as it began to leap away from the cracks and navigated its way through the destroyed arena.

'I owe you one Santina,' Kiara thought as she remembered how Santina had managed to analyze and get through the exact same predicament.

Regina scowled when she noticed that Solaria's movements were similar to Deiopea's own moves in the same situation.

"You think that little girls moves will save you?" she erupted in fury.

"Are they not?" taunted Kiara in reply.

Regina bit her lip and growled in anger.

Kiara smiled, Regina was distracted and didn't realize that Solaria had made it to the top of the earthquake where Atalanta lay.

"Solaria!" she cried. "Firestorm Fury!"

As the Lioness came upon the vulnerable Atalanta, it turned into a wave of fire that smashed Atalanta away and ended the earthquake, putting the arena back to normal.

Regina screamed in torment. "Special Move! Spreading Flames!"

From Atalanta emerged waves of fire that covered the arena.

"You like fire so much then I'm going to give it to you!" exclaimed Regina.

Kiara shook her head and waved her finger at her opponent. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Regina, you do realize you're trying to beat a master of fire with fire don't you?"

Regina's eyes widened in horror as Solaria absorbed all of the flames and the bey turned into a ruby colour.

"Oh shit," she stuttered as the Lioness appeared and unleashed the absorbed fire in a fire stream from its mouth.

Regina screamed as Atalanta was incinerated by the burst of flames.

"Now finish her off Solaria!" declared Kiara as she fist pumped the air in front of her. "Queen Lioness Rising Sundance!"

Solaria began to spin at super speeds around Atalanta and created a blinding flash of red light.

"Is that the fat lady I hear!" snickered Kiara.

"I think she might have it," stated Kenny. "Atalanta was severely weakened by the previous attack when Solaria absorbed the flames."

Max wasn't sure however and replied with, "But this is Regina we're talking about. I don't think she's going to go down that easy. Some how I think the fights has only just begun."

"Looks like this is over!" declared Kiara.

"Never in a million years would I lose to a pipsqueak like you!" snapped Regina. "DARK MOVE ATALANTA!"

A burst of shadows shot from Atalanta and sent Solaria flying back, shocking the crowd.

"Oh no," Kiara muttered to herself as Regina generated two balls of dark energy in her armored hands and threw it at her bey. Dark lightning burst from Atalanta and the woman with a bow and arrow appeared and sprouted wings of pitch-black energy.

"GO!" screamed Regina as she flung her arms out. "PITCH BLACK CHAOTIC ATTACK!"

Black tendrils shot from the Dark Woman and encased Kiara in a black cocoon of shadows.

"No!' she cried as the cocoon covered her completely.

"Now your Solaria is powerless towards me!" laughed Regina gruesomely as the Dark Woman began rapidly firing dark arrows at the ruby bey.

"Kiara!" cried Max in panic.

"You're too late!" spat Regina. "Kiara will be dead in a matter of minutes!"

"What!" Max protested.

"Now that I'm this strong," Regina explained as she stuck her tongue out. "My powers can completely drain someone of their life energy. I'm not going to put little Kiara Summers here into a coma. I'M GOING TO GIVE HER A ONE WAY TICKET TO THE GRAVE!"

Max' eyes widened and his blood boiled. His crest glowed as his anger rose and he conjured a ball of red energy in his hand.

"YOU BITCH!" he roared as he threw the energy towards Regina.

She simply laughed as some shadow tendrils appeared and caught the attack before throwing it back at Max, knocking him to the ground with a crash.

"Max!" cried Kenny as he rushed to his friend's aid.

"It's too late for Kiara now!" Regina declared in triumph. "She's dead!"

* * *

><p>In the cocoon, Kiara could feel her life slipping away and her energy being feed to a dark power.<p>

'No,' she thought in panic. 'I can't die like this. I was supposed to win. I'm the Queen of Chaos.'

That was when she saw a ruby light in the distance and it came towards her. It slowly grew bigger and changed into a humanoid form.

Kiara did her best to keep her eyes on the light as she felt her heart beat slow down.

"What are you?" she asked weakly to the light.

"I am the original Queen of Order," the light replied as it took the form of Siana.

"Siana?" gasped Kiara. "But how?"

"I sensed you were in danger and have come to save you my child," Siana replied soothingly. "It has been many millennia since the power of my bloodline was needed to save the world. And right now, the world faces its greatest threat ever. And many more are to come."

Kiara lowered her head in defeat. "It's too late," she stated. "I've lost. Regina's sucking my life energy away."

Siana smiled. "Kiara, do you know the story of the Crimson Hero?"

"Of course," answered Kiara.

"The Crimson Hero faced death many times," Siana explained. "But he never gave up. And he won the war. He extinguished the evil that threatened the world. He was betrayed, stabbed, robbed and taken apart mentally and physically. But he never gave up. True power doesn't come from how strong you are. It comes from the heart, from the will to continue. The night is darkest just before the dawn. Make the dawn come Kiara. Believe in yourself, and you will always win."

Kiara watched as Siana moved away before fading into the darkness.

"Believe in yourself," whispered Kiara as she looked at her hand as her order crest began to glow. "And you will always win."

* * *

><p>Regina laughed as Solaria was hit again by another dark arrow and spun out of control.<p>

"This is over!" she declared. "I win! I could never be defeated!"

"Never say never!" exclaimed the voice of Kiara from inside the dark cocoon as it began to crack open and leaked ruby light.

"Impossible!" protested Regina in shock.

"Believe in yourself!" exclaimed Kiara as she emerged from her cocoon, her crest shining and herself back at full strength. As Regina was covered in black armor, Kiara was now wearing ruby red armor with a tiara with a ruby jewel embedded in it. "And you will always win!"

"That's totally sick!" cheered Max. "Where do I get one of those fancy armors?"

"This can't be…" stuttered Regina in disbelief. "How did you survive…?"

"Because I believe!" Kiara declared. "And you're going down!"

The Lioness burst from its respective bey and sprung at the Dark Woman, shattering her with its claws.

"It appears I've underestimated you," cursed Regina. "But I still have plan B."

Kiara raised an eyebrow. "Plan B?"

"You of course know that Artemis was given the power to duplicate the spin stealing power of L-Drago right?" Regina asked.

"Yeah." Kiara nodded.

"Well," Regina continued with a lick of her lips. "I have been given a similar power. We all know Damian Hart and his Hades Kerbecs. We also know of his greatest special move, Hades Gate. Using this, he could literally take his opponent to hell to battle them. This gave him a home field advantage."

"Are you saying you can do something similar?" asked Kiara.

"Yes," Regina answered. "I'm going to show you, ATALANTA'S DOMAIN!"

A dark and enchanted like door appeared above the arena and opened up.

"Run Kiara!" warned Kenny. "If that move is as strong as Hades gate, then Atalanta's attack power will increase exponentially!"

"Too late!" screeched Regina as chains sprung from the doorway and grabbed the Lioness and began to pull it in.

"No!" protested Kiara.

"Welcome to my version of hell!" snickered Regina as a dark energy dome encased the area, blocking out what was happening on the inside.

"No Kiara!" screamed Max as he ran to the dome and banged on it. There was no way in. Kiara was trapped.

* * *

><p>Kiara screamed as the arena turned into a black vortex and sucked her, her bey, Regina and her bey in as well. Everything turned black and Kiara was sent plummeting down a dark vortex like tunnel.<p>

"Shit!" she screamed as she closed her eyes when she smashed against the hard cold ground.

She bit her lip as she stood up and examined her surroundings. It was like a nightmare. The grass was brown and dead. Old trees without leaves were placed around the area. The black night in the sky was starless and the moon was a pale ghostly white. It was cold, and the place lacked the feel of life.

She heard a faint growl and turned to see Solaria, in its beats form lying on the ground.

"Solaria," Kiara said as she ran to her bey beast and helped it up. "Where are we?"

"I place I call Dystopia," snickered the voice of Regina as she appeared from the shadows with the beast form of Atalanta as her side.

"Where did you take us!" demanded Kiara to Regina, who was floating in the air.

"My kingdom," Regina replied. "Where does all the misery in the world come from? And where does it go when it's gone? Here, a place of darkness, misery and broken dreams."

"You make me sick," spat Kiara in reply.

Regina ignored her. "Try to make yourself at home. After all, you're going to be here for a very long time."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard what I said," snickered Regina. "Once I beat you, you will be trapped here forever to suffer and rot for all eternity."

"You sick, twisted bastard!" cursed Kiara. "I refuse to lose to someone like you!"

Regina's right eye bulged. "Let the _true _battle begin! This place is like a land of minds! This is a battle of whose will is stronger!"

"I will win," Kiara stated.

Regina smirked. "We'll see. ATTACK ATALANTA!"

Atalanta obeyed by drawing an arrow and shooting it at Solaria, which roared and dodged out of the way.

"You think arrows can beat me?" taunted Kiara.

Regina shrugged. "It'd be boring if I ended this too quickly."

"Well I want to get out of here as soon as possible!" declared Kiara. "Charge Solaria!"

Solaria roared and leapt into the air at Atalanta.

"You're fighting in my world idiot!" Regina loafed as Atalanta faded into the night, easily dodging Solaria's attack.

"That's cheating!" protested Kiara.

"Not in my books it isn't," answered Regina. "Is it cheating when a bird flies to evade a fox? Is it cheating when a cat climbs a tree to escape a dog? Is it cheating when a fish swims away to escape a predator that cannot go in water? No, it's nature. Same as this."

Kiara cursed under her breathe.

"What's wrong Kiara?" asked Regina. "Out of your league?"

"Shut up and fight!" snapped Kiara as she drew a sword of ruby energy and charged towards her foe.

"No can do," responded Regina as she pointed at Kiara and a shadow shot from her fingertip and knocked her opponent away.

"Crud," said Kiara to herself. "I'm fighting the way she wants. I need to fight my way."

"What now Summers?" taunted Regina as she folded her arms.

"Firestorm Fury!" Kiara exclaimed as Solaria roared and unleashed a wave of fire that shot towards Regina.

"Whirling Hurricane!" Regina retorted as the wind around her swirled together to create a hurricane, blocking the oncoming wave of fire.

"Damn," Kiara spat.

"You can't beat me with old moves," Regina said.

"Why don't you stop these tricks and prove yourself better then me by attacking head on! Or are you a coward!"

This strummed cord in Regina. "If it's a painful death you want then why not!"

Regina flew down to the ground and cracked her knuckles and then her neck. Her veins grew dark and a sword of shadows appeared in her hand.

"Die bitch!" roared Kiara as she charged and swung her blade. Regina flipped out of the way and landed behind her opponent. She sent a slash at Kiara, but she turned in time to block it. Regina pulled back and came down, but Kiara dodged to the side and slashed Regina's leg. She cringed but spun around and clashed Kiara across the stomach. She coughed blood and leapt back to avoid another oncoming attacking. Regina charged forward and Kiara dodged to the side and sent a slash, which Regina easily blocked and threw Kiara back. She stumbled and Regina came in with a kick that knocked her to the ground. Kiara reached for her dropped sword but Regina kicked it away and sat down on her foe. She threw her own sword away and sent a punch straight at Kiara's face, sending blood spurting from her mouth.

"Regretting challenging me now?" mocked Regina as she slapped her foe. Kiara didn't reply, earning herself another slap.

Regina stood up and materialized a batten made of shadows and examined it. She smirked at Kiara before whacking her in the stomach with her weapon.

"That looked like it really hurt," snickered Regina before she smashed Kiara's head to the ground and sent her batten ramming into her foe's back.

"Now that looked like it really hurt," loafed Regina. "Let's try an experiment. What hurts more? A?"

Regina smashed her batten into Kiara neck, getting her opponent to scream in pain.

"B?"

Regina rammed the batten into Kiara's torso and smashed it in again when blood leaked from the wound.

"Forehand?"

With that movement, Regina whacked Kiara in the face, giving her a black eye.

"Or backhand?"

With that movement, Regina rammed the batten into Kiara mouth, sending a mouth full of blood spilling to the ground.

Regina chuckled as she bent down so that she was eye to eye with her foe.

"How did that fell pumpkin?" she asked. "Joker was always my favorite character. So evil and cruel. Didn't care about anyone. Not even himself. He'd just laugh. And just like how he killed Jason Todd, I'm going to kill you. And your friends, like Max Smith, are next."

Kiara growled and spat blood into Regina's face. The evil mistress picked up Kiara and threw her into a tree with a crash.

"Now Solaria!" Kiara coughed as the Lioness appeared and lunged at Regina, clawing and scraping at her armor and face.

"That's a good girl," mussed Kiara as she managed to stand and watched Solaria dig in to Regina.

"ATALANTA!" screamed Regina as the said beast appeared from the shadows and tackled Solaria off of her master.

The two bey spirits starred at each other intently. Solaria growled while Atalanta seethed. Solaria began to charge and Atalanta flew forward with her fists raised and ready to fight.

"SOLARIA!" exclaimed Kiara.

"ATALATA!" roared Regina.

The two beasts clashed with all their might. Solaria was clawing at Atalanta while the Dark Woman was sending right hooks and sucker punches at the Order Herald.

Eventually, the two beasts separated from each other and Atalanta took out her bow and drew a dozen or so arrows.

"Kill them Atalanta!" ordered Regina as her bey beast fired all of the arrows towards Solaria.

"Two can play at that game! Solaria! Firestorm Fury!" commanded Kiara.

Solaria roared and a wave of fire shot from its jaws and collided with the arrow, incinerating them.

"Water Shards!" cried Regina as a sphere of water appeared in front of Atalanta. She chanted a spell before the water turned into ice and broke into shards that flew at the Lioness.

"Fire Pellets!" retorted Kiara as a ball of fire appeared in front of Solaria. It roared and the ball split apart in fire bullets that shot forward and clashed with the ice shards.

"Ground Shaker!" erupted Regina as Atalanta sent a shattering punch to the ground that literally caused an earthquake.

"Leap Solaria!" ordered Kiara as her bey beast leapt from the breaking ground and lunged at Atalanta before it could fly away. It clawed and tore at her right wing, causing her to fall to the ground with the Lioness.

"Whirling Hurricane!" shouted Regina as a whirlwind appeared and shot towards Solaria.

"Queen Lioness Rising Sundance!" declared Kiara as Solaria dodged to the side and began to run rapidly around the hurricane, glowing red and creating a blinding light that burst through the tempest.

"I don't think we're going to end this with normal attacks," stated Kiara.

"It appears so," growled Regina. "It all comes down to our strongest moves then."

Kiara concentrated hard and her crest glowed. Her side of the field transformed into a void of ruby red energy while Regina's turned into a void of black and purple energy.

The two bladers took their sides at their respective bey beasts before charging. As their beasts lunged at each other, the two bladers threw a punch that collided with each other, and created an explosion of energy. Both of their armors shattered and the force of the attack sent them back to the real world.

* * *

><p>The crowd gasped as the dome suddenly became see-through and red energy swirled from within.<p>

Regina's pitch-black eyes looked into Kiara's red eyes as their beys prepared for one final clash.

"SOLARIA!"

"ATALANTA!"

The two beys shot forward and smashed into each other, creating a giant explosion of red and black energy that filled the dome.

The Lioness and Dark Woman appeared and lunged at each other for the final time, creating a secondary explosion of energy.

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" both bladers screamed as their beys and spirits clashed. The dome itself was unable to hold such energy and began to crack.

"DARK MOVE!" screamed Regina. "PITCH-BLACK CHAOTIC ATTACK!"

The Dark Woman exploded into an energy ball of dark energy, which threatened to overwhelm Kiara and Solaria.

"ORDER MOVE!" exclaimed Kiara. "LIGHT OF SOLARIA!"

The Lioness exploded into a blinding red light that pushed back against the dark energy and evened up the battle. The dome finally burst from so much energy and the stadium was filled with a dazzling light.

"END IT ATALANTA!"

"FINISH IT SOLARIA!"

Regina looked to Kiara and sent a powerful energy blast from her body at her, but Kiara sent a powerful ruby energy blast in reply, and the two attacks hit dead on.

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" both bladers roared again as their powers and beys clashed. Suddenly, there was a white explosion from the two beys and it threw both Kiara and Regina back with a boom.

The crowd was silent and watched as the light faded to reveal both Kiara and Regina lying on the ground with their beys at their feet.

"It's another tie!" announced Mr. Jones.

"Kiara," muttered Regina as she raised her head slightly and looked at her foe. "Thank you…for…saving…me…I…" Suddenly, her eyes rolled back into her head and she slumped down, unconscious.

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><p><strong>To Be Continued: Next Time – Dawn of Darkness <strong>

**With the previous two battles ending in draws, it all comes down to a battle between Max and Unmei. As Unmei reveals her powerful dark energies to combat Max's order abilities, she reveals her terrible childhood and her past self's conflict with the Crimson Hero. As Unmei threatens to sacrifice the students to complete a dark eons old ritual to achieve ultimate power, Max is forced to fight with everything he has to stop the power crazed Unmei and win the tournament! But as the tournament comes to a close, the Purge begins and Lord Zygor's true plan begins! **

**Did you all like the chapter! What did you think of the battle! Was it good enough! Did you all like how Ninel kicked some serious but? And yes, I took some dialogue from the Joker in Batman: Under the Red Hood. The scene itself when Regina beats Kiara with a batten is similar to how the Joker beats Jason Todd in the film. It was sort of to show how similar and crazy Regina is if she can be compared to some one as crazy and sadistic as the Joker. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, the battle and I hope I have you are all psyched up for the next and final chapter of the Tournament Arc! See you all next to time, and remember to ****PLEASE REVIEW! PRETTY PLEASE! I REALLY WANT YOU TO REVIEW/FAVORITE/FOLLOW!**


	35. Chapter 35: Dawn of Darkness

**Hey there, everyone! Time for the final and epic chapter of the 'Battle of the Dorms Tournament' arc! We finally see Unmei for who she truly is and we get to see her slug it out with Max, the Prince of Fire and reincarnation of the Crimson Hero. Sorry for the weeks delay, but I was trying to make this chapter as epic as possible! Hopefully I've succeeded. **

**IMPORTANT NOTICE ALL MUST READ: ****Now that I have you're attention, I need you all to read the 'trailer,' to this story that I plan to post on my profile and on the first chapter of this story to possibly reel people in to read this awesome story! People are not named and only described for secrecy reasons and because new comers are not going to know who certain characters are by name. Please tell me what you think in the reviews! PRETTY PLEASE BECAUSE I REALLY WANT TO KNOW! MAKE SURE YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF THE CHAPTER AS WELL!**

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><p><strong>This summer. <strong>

_Cue suspenseful music. _

The starry sky is suddenly filled with fire and a meteor comes down and shoots off into the distance.

_"__Soon, everything will change." _

**A new battle is here. **

The meteor from before crashes down onto sand and explodes.

**A new evil is here. **

From the fire of the meteor emerges an explosion of dark energy with blood red eyes.

_"__Soon, everyone is going to know what true suffering is." _

**A new age is upon us. **

A boy with brown hair wearing a red jacket and black jeans looks out into the distance to see only destroyed buildings and fire.

**A new hero will rise. **

A group of kids, silhouetted, emerge from the fire at a building. The one at the front holds up his hand and it glows red in an omega shape.

_"__They will all scream for mercy." _

**A new war will be waged.**

Shots of a mystical gold realm and shots of a dark purple realm are shown.

Two cloaked people with triquetra glowing scars stand at one side of a bey arena.

**A new destiny is at hand. **

The boy with brown hair from before steps up to a bey arena and readies his bey. As he launches, he declares "Let It Rip!"

**New beys.**

_Cue action music (Duel of Fates). _

A red and a black bey clash in an arena before creating an explosion.

A red armored knight appears and slashes at a fox.

A phoenix composed of fire rises into the air and shrieks.

Two beys spring from launchers and clash mid-air.

_"__Many will fall. Many will die." _

**New heroes. **

The boy with brown hair shouts, "Let's heat this up Swordsman!" He throws his hand into the air and a red armored knight bursts from his bey.

A girl with shoulder length black hair emerges from a black cocoon with red armor on. She cries, "Believe in yourself and you will always win!" From her bey appears a golden brown lioness with a tiara with a ruby jewel in it.

Another girl appears, this one with red hair. She exclaims, "Show them who's boss!" as a phoenix bursts out of her bey.

This time a new boy appears, one with silver hair, standing with two spirits. He declares, "Burn them up Gryphos!" as a griffon/dragon hybrid appears in the air and roars.

_"__Those who resist will suffer for eternity." _

**New enemies.**

A blue angelic man holding a staff with two snakes coiled around it flys into the air before growing demonic features.

A bey battle is suddenly surrounded by a shadow dome.

A dark figure laughs malevolently as a purple bolt of lightning bursts from his bey.

A girl with silver blond hair is surrounded by jade green energy and a serpent like creature appears in front of her and hisses.

**New powers. **

The boy with brown hair generates an orb of red energy and throws it at something unseen.

Two girls battle, one in red armor and one in black armor. Both have swords and are in an intense sword fight.

An explosion of black energy causes a building to crumble.

A wall bursts open with blue energy and kids inside the classroom scream as the ceiling collapses and the windows shatter.

_"__The dawn of evil is here." _

**There's action. **

A stream of fire shoots up into the air.

A light in a bey arena blinds the crowd.

The red knight and the blue angle clash with their weapons, a sword and a staff.

A dark blizzard blows around the arena, causing destruction.

A tempest of winds surrounds the arena, blowing everyone back.

**Suspense. **

A king falls to the ground, a sword sticking out of his back.

The boy with brown hair launches himself through a window.

An assortment of soldiers and knights stand ready for battle.

The top of a tower breaks off and falls towards a group of screaming people.

A couple of kids leapt across a ledge as the building they were just standing on explodes.

Two beys clash while full power, sending sparks flying in all directions.

_"__Soon the world will be ushered into darkness." _

**Destruction.**

An entire castle crumbles to the ground.

A classroom explodes.

A couple of kids, screaming, are sucked into a giant tornado.

A group of bladers turn around to face a giant spider.

A hallway is flooded by tones of water.

**This time, they'll need everything they can get to win.**

"We stand as one," says the brown haired boy as he and a group of bladers put their hands together.

A line of beys spins towards an unknown object.

A demonic shadow beast lunges towards a bey and a boy.

"We are cancelling the apocalypse!" declares the voice of a spirit.

The brown haired boy holds up a sword with an army of kids behind him.

**The Prince of Fire.**

The brown haired boy runs on top of a building with his bey spirit, the Red Knight at his side.

"I'll fight till the last breath leaves my body!" he cries as his bey explodes into flames and launches itself towards an opposing bey.

**The Goddess of Light.**

The girl with black hair from before falls downwards with her bey flying next to her.

"Believe in yourself and you will always win!" she exclaims as the Lioness roars at an opponent.

**The Spirit Caller. **

The boy with silver hair is on his knees, injured and stares at an opponent with fiery eyes.

"I'll never stop fighting!" he declares as his bey, while on fire like a supernova shoots downwards.

**The Fire Breeder. **

The second girl from earlier fights against a powerful wind with a phoenix at her side.

"Let's raise the bar shall we!" she shouts as her bey speeds forward while on fire.

**And the Queen of Ice. **

Another girl wearing a black dress and standing with a white alicorn in an ice field appears.

"It's now or never!" she cries as the alicorn unleashed a blue energy stream from its wings.

**The thrilling sequel to Metal Fury.**

The boy with brown hair throws his hand out as he is surrounded by a red aura.

A bey smashes into another bey from above, creating an explosion.

_"__Evil is upon us. The end is near." _

**And the epic prequel to Shogun Steel. **

The crowd watches a battle in suspense.

A scorpion spirit and a wolf spirit clash with each other.

A vortex of fire surrounds a battle and creates a blast.

Some kids run from explosions with many falling down and screaming.

_"__It's here. It's time for…" _

A giant explosion appears before everything immediately becomes black and silent.

_"…__Darkness to transcend." _

_Cue epic music. _

**Beyblade Metal Heroes**

**Season 1: Darkness Transcends. **

From the sky shoots down a red supernova/meteorite.

**"Darkness doesn't die. It just evolves." **

**_Out now! A new epic beyblade tale begins. For more info go to the profile of _****_Siderisn _****_or read on. _**

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><p><strong>What did you all think? Good? Not good? Please tell me. Now for the review responses. <strong>

**AKA99: **Yes, so much violence. That's why this story is rated T. You may like all the violence, but that doesn't make you crazy. I know heaps of people who like violence. Glad to know I've got you hooked!

**Alpha Dragonis: **Was it really that cool? I guess if you think so then it must have been! Thank you for liking the previous chapter so much! I'll only start accepting OCs once the season ends and season 2 starts. The seasons will be separate stories as well.

**TheNightmareBringer: **OMG! Thank you for thinking of the last chapter as fantastic! Thank you as well for telling me it was well written and cool. I was hoping I could somehow top Kiara and Jaden's battle and it looks like I did it. Good to know my writing skills are improving.

**Kawaiino Tenshi Kiki: **Suspense was my goal! Happy to know you thought the battle was interesting! Yes, it's up to Max and Unmei to settle who is the strongest team in the tournament. Regina's finally free, but as the others, she falls into a coma. Ninel is back, she only had a supporting role at the start of the season but her part was reduced greatly once the tournament arc started. However, she'll be back in the supporting role once the Chaotic Order arc begins and she'll continue like that through the Dark Oath arc as well.

**Turtleswift11: **You can read your review response at the end. Otherwise, I'm just going to spoil the chapter.

**MarsTwlight: **Nice to know you found the chapter was awesome! We'll find out who the attacker is soon, and technically they're not a murdered because they haven't killed anyone. You wanted to see who'd come out on top in a battle between Max and Unmei, we'll here it is. And thanks for sending me that extra background info on Unmei!

**Time for the final chapter of the 'Battle of the Dorms,' arc which is over 12,000 words long! It's been a long arc too, lasting up to 28 chapters! Hope you all enjoy this chapter and remember to ****REVIEW ONCE YOU'RE DONE! I'M HOPING TO GET TO 300 REVEIWS BEFORE THE END OF THIS STORY! I NEED AT LEAST FOUR REVIEWS EACH CHAPTER! BUT I'D LOVE FOR EVERYONE TO REVIEW!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 35: Dawn of Darkness <strong>

Team Nova Flare and the crowd gasped as Regina slumped down unconscious.

"Regina…" stuttered Kiara as she tried to stand despite her injuries. "No…" As she attempted to take a step, but she lost her balance and fell.

"Kiara!" cried Max as some nurses rushed onto the scene and placed both Kiara and Regina on stretches. The first group of nurses took Regina out of the stadium and towards the hospital wing while the nurses with Kiara took her to the locker rooms.

"We will have a short break for to review Miss Summers condition," announced Mr. Jones, leaving the students whispering in fear.

Team Nova Flare weren't even thinking about the next battle. Max wasn't even thinking about Unmei, he was thinking about Kiara. He couldn't stand the thought of one of his friends being injured.

As they entered the locker rooms, they saw that the Goddess of Light had been laid down on a bench and the nurses were checking her.

Kiara coughed as the nurses began to bandage up her wounds.

"You did good Kiara," said Max. "You drew with her and freed her from the chaos energies possessing her."

Kiara managed a smile. "Thanks."

Blaze sighed and turned to the Prince of Fire. "Two draws," she stated. "That means it all comes down to your battle with Unmei."

Max nodded. "I just hope I have what it takes. You saw what she did to Fang when they battled."

Simon cringed. "Yeah," he added. "She defeated her in one move and obliterated the arena."

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><p><em>"<em>_I DO!" laughed Unmei as a black aura appeared around her body and dark energy balls appeared in her hands. "DARK MOVE! DARK HUNT!" _

_Unmei threw the energy balls into her bey and it exploded with dark energy, ripping the arena up and throwing the smashed pieces at the defenseless Serval. _

_"__NO!' screamed Fang in panic as the boulders crushed her bey destroyed the arena. _

_"__SEE YOU IN HELL FANG!" taunted Unmei as a panther composed of shadows appeared and lunged at Fang. _

_Fang screamed in pain as she was lit alight with fire and collapsed to the ground along side her crushed bey. _

_Unmei burst into laughter as the flames went tout, revealing a singed Fang before a boulder fell on her, dealing more damage and knocking her out. _

_The crowd had already exited the stadium in fear as Unmei recalled her bey yet continued to unleash dark streams of energy. _

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><p>Kenny bit his lip. "From just that data, all I can say is, is that you have a real dangerous battle on your hands Max."<p>

Max gulped. "Maybe I need to take a different approach to free her besides simply beating her," he suggested.

Blaze answered, "What did you have in mind?"

Max shrugged. "Maybe trying to get through to her or something?"

"Risky move," Kiara coughed as he managed to sit up as the nurses finished bandaging her wounds. "If you let your guard down she'll most likely crush you."

"Besides," added Simon as he folded his arms. "That's exactly what Carlos tried with Morgan. They were best friends, but even Carlos couldn't get through to Morgan."

Max lowered his head and clenched his fists. "I have to try. I don't want another person falling into a coma."

Kenny placed his hand on Max's shoulder. "At this stage, I think the best thing we can do for them is to first free them from possession."

Max looked up and smiled. "Yeah I guess so."

Blaze turned to Kiara. "Think you're okay to come out and watch," she asked.

Kiara groaned but managed to stand up and stay balanced. "I think I'll be fine as long as I don't stand for too long."

"Let's go," said Simon as they exited the locker rooms and came out to the stadium. The gang took a seat at their side of the stadium.

"Will Max Smith please step up for the final battle!" announced Mr. Jones.

Max stepped up to the arena and faced Unmei, who had been waiting. Her eyes ere pitch-black and Max could feel a dark aura from the possessed blader.

"End of the line Max," hissed Unmei coldly.

Max didn't reply and simply starred down his foe.

Unmei smirked sinisterly. "What's the matter Max? Cat got your tongue." She proceeded to laugh at her own pun.

Max finally spoke up. "I'm going to beat you Unmei."

Unmei snickered and pointed at Max. "You?" she spat. "You, Max Smith? You think you can beat me. I'm ten times the blader you'll ever be. You think you can just strut in here all mighty and think you can beat me?"

Max gritted his teeth. "Yes. I don't see why I shouldn't be able to win. After all, no one is unbeatable."

Unmei spat at the ground. "You think I'm like all the others don't you?"

Max raised an eyebrow. "Are you not one of those possessed bladers?" he questioned in confusion.

Unmei answered, "Yes and no."She enjoyed the mind games she was already putting her opponent through.

Max frowned. "Now you're just confusing me. Are you saying you are possessed but at the same time, you aren't?"

"Once again," Unmei replied. "Yes, and no."

Max groaned. "Then what do you mean?" he demanded.

Unmei licked her lips and took out her launcher. "Patience Mr. Smith. All will soon become clear. But for now, we don't we put on a show for the little kids. After all, it's going to be a show none of them are going to forget. Ever."

Max cringed but shook it off and took out his launcher. "Bring it on Unmei! I'll save you from the darkness!"

Unmei snorted. "I don't need saving, Crimson Hero."

Max's eyes widened. "How do you know about that?" he demanded.

"All will be soon revealed," Unmei explained as he took out Dark Midnight Panther and set it in her launcher.

"Looks like I've got no choice but to beat the answers out of you!" declared Max as he pulled out Flame Swordsman and attached it. "Let's do this! I'll stop you once and for all! For everyone that was hurt by the possessed bladers!"

"Prepare for the end!" responded Unmei evilly.

"Let the final battle of the tournament begin!" announced Mr. Jones as he threw his hand into the air.

"Three!" cried Max.

"Two!" added the crowd.

"One!" finished Unmei.

"Let It Rip!"

Swordsman and Panther launched from their respective launchers and smashed into each other even before landing, creating an explosion of red and black energy.

The crowd cried out and threw their hands over their eyes to block out the blinding lights and dark energies flashing.

Max's crest immediately began to glow red while a dark aura appeared around Unmei. Swordsman glowed red as order energy surged throughout Max and Panther let off an explosion of dark energy as Unmei empowered herself.

"Swordsman!" cried Max.

"Panther!" cried Unmei.

The two beys continued to clash, still in the air until their attacks cancelled each other out and created an explosion, which knocked both Unmei and Max to the ground.

"Could it be over already?" questioned Kenny as the crowd went silent and waited for the smoke to clear.

As it faded, both Swordsman and Panther were revealed to be spinning at full power.

"All that damage and neither bey has lost any strength," Blaze commented in disbelief.

Max slowly stood up while Unmei leapt back onto her feet with ease.

"That was fun," she giggled devilishly. "I'm surprised you were able to stand up to such an attack."

Max gasped. "Wait, but you didn't even perform a special move."

Unmei smiled. "Exactly. Just you wait for my real power."

Max gulped, he didn't like where this was going.

'Okay,' he thought. 'She's definitely going to be a challenge. So maybe I should make the first move.'

Max threw his hand out and declared, "Let's heat this up Swordsman!"

Swordsman obeyed by moving to the outside of the arena where it began to spin around at high speeds.

As it exploded into flames Unmei stated, "Here we go."

"Special Move!" cried Max. "Flame Sword Slash!"

The Red Knight emerged from its bey and drew its fiery sword.

Unmei's right eye bulged. "Bring it on!"

"Incinerate them Swordsman!" shouted Max as the Red Knight sent its mighty blade plummeting into the top of Panther. There was an explosion of fire, and Panther went spinning out of control.

Unmei shrugged. "Big deal."

Max ignored her. "Again Swordsman!"

The Red Knight raised its blade once again and swiped at Panther, sending it flying to the other side of the arena.

Unmei clapped and mockingly stated, "Very good. Very impressive. Now, do you have anything worth showing?"

Max growled. "One more time Swordsman!" he exclaimed. "Flame Sword Slash!"

The Red Knight turned and struck with its weapon once again, but this time, a large cat composed completely of shadows emerged and caught the blade with its two front paws.

Max's eyes widened in shock. "What the heck?" he cried.

Unmei laughed. "Did you really think a sword of fire could defeat Dark Midnight Panther?"

Max gulped nervously.

"Throw it back Panther!" loafed Unmei as the Black Cat threw the sword back at the Red Knight, the impact shattering the bey beast.

"No!" cried Max.

"Too bad Max," snorted Unmei. "Now it's my turn to show you what I can do!" She proceeded to crack her knuckles while dark energy began to radiate from her bey.

"I have a bad feeling about this," commented Simon, uneasily.

"Special Move!" cried Unmei as she threw her hand into the air. "Metal Claw!"

Max watched as metal claws sprung out of Panther and the bey spun forward. He guessed the claws were bad news and knew he had to do something quick.

"Run Swordsman!" he cried as his bey began to run from Panther.

"Running scared I see," spat Unmei. "But that means you must have guessed how dangerous the claws of Panther are."

Max didn't reply and gritted his teeth.

"Get him Panther!" commanded Unmei as her bey suddenly picked up speed and dashed towards Swordsman.

"Oh shit," was the only thing Max could say as Panther smashed into Swordsman, sending sparks flying and ripping out a chunk of Swordsman's fusion wheel.

"Oh no!" cried Max in panic.

"That looked like it hurt," taunted Unmei. "Good thing we feel our beys pain in this battle."

Max gasped and then screamed as a giant slash mark appeared across his left arm, and blood splurted from the wound. He gripped his wound as he fell to his knees.

The crowd gasped while Unmei burst into insane laughter.

"You're a weakling Max Smith," she mocked. "Can't even take a little slash."

Max looked up at Unmei with fierce eyes. "You'll pay for that," he warned.

"I'm so scared," taunted Unmei sarcastically. "Besides, I'm not done with my attack. Go Panther! Metal Claw again!"

Panther charged forward towards Swordsman, preparing for another shattering attack.

"On no!" cried Kenny as he typed on his laptop. "If that attack hits and Swordsman takes the same damage as it did before, the whole bey could literally shatter!"

"Watch out Max!" warned Simon.

'Wait for it,' thought Max as Panther came closer. 'Wait for it.'

"Die Max!" roared Unmei as Panther came upon the seemingly defenseless Swordsman.

"Gotcha!" cried Max as the Red Knight burst from its bey and slashed Panther, the impact sending it spiraling away.

Unmei coughed as a slash mark appeared across her chest and the blood from the wound leaked onto her clothes. She looked up at Max as he stood up and smiled.

"That was very clever," Unmei said. "But I guess that is to be expected from the reincarnation of the Crimson Hero."

"How do you know about that?" asked Max. "Did your superiors tell you or something?"

Unmei shook her head. "You still don't understand what I am," she stated.

"I understand perfectly what you are!" retorted Max. "You're a blader who's been possessed! I don't care if you deny it! But I'm going to save you!"

Unmei laughed. "Poor Max Smith, always thinking he's right."

Max shook of her words and continued the battle. "Charge Swordsman! Flame Sword Slash!"

The Red Knight leapt forward with his sword raised, ready to strike again.

Unmei waved her finger in the air. "That was rude calling me a liar before Max," she snorted. "I think we need to teach you a lesson. Panther! Special Move! Beauty's Pearl!"

The wind around Panther picked up and swirled around it, forming a tornado, which deflected the Red Knight's attack and shattered it before sending Swordsman flying back.

"Darn it!" cursed Max.

"Just try and get through!" taunted Unmei as she placed her hands on her hips. "Come on, I dare you. Or are you chicken?"

Max ignored her and cried, "Charge Swordsman!"

The red and yellow bey obeyed and began to charge towards the dark tornado.

Unmei snorted. "Really?"

As Swordsman smashed into the tornado, it attempted to break through but couldn't and was thrown back.

'Nuts,' Max thought in frustration. 'I'm getting nowhere with this. But how am I supposed to burst through a tornado? I suppose I could try and form my own to fight back, but how can I do that.'

Max thought hard as he pushed back against the wind. That was when he noticed a lolly rapper, which was flying around the tornado due to being caught in the wind stream.

Max's eyes widened as a plan formed in his head. 'That's it,' he thought. 'I can use the wind stream from the tornado to increase the speed and power of my own bey. That should be enough to push through.'

"Swordsman!" declared Max as he threw his hand onto the air. "Sprint!"

Swordsman moved up close to the tornado, just enough so that it got caught in the wind stream and began to be forcefully spun around. However, it used this speed to propel itself forward and increase its power.

Unmei raised an eyebrow and then smirked. "Idiot," she loafed. "You think you can generate enough power to burst through the tornado don't you? I'll give you credit for coming up with the idea, but I'm sorry to disappoint you! Because I still have a card to play!"

Max's eyes widened. "What?"

Unmei began to laugh as dark energy flowed from her. She then cried, "Reverse Flow!" and small slots on Panther opened up.

The crowd gasped in astonishment as the slots on the dark bey created a reversal flow and began to spin the tornado counterclockwise.

Max smirked. "And that will stop me how?"

Unmei shook her head. "You idiot!" she spat. "Your bey can't use the counterclockwise wind flow because it spins the other way!"

Max groaned. "Crap," he grunted as his bey began to spin wildly while trapped in the wind flow before managing to break out.

'Alright plan B Max,' the Prince of Fire thought. 'I need to break through somehow. Come on Max, think! What beats wind? Earth. Too bad my bey isn't an earth bey! Wait a minute; doesn't fire need oxygen to sustain itself? That's it, I'll burn that gale of wind down!'

"Let's heat this up Swordsman!" exclaimed Max as his bey began to spin around the arena and began to catch fire.

Unmei smiled devilishly. "And yet another episode of stupidity from Max Smith," she mocked.

Max grinned in response. "It may look that way! But you forget that I have the element of fire on my side!"

Unmei gave a crooked grin. "And that will help you because?"

"You know the old saying _if you can't beat them, join them_?" asked Max.

Unmei nodded.

"Well here's my take on it!" cried Max as his bey shot towards the tornado and the Red Knight emerged and unsheathed his fiery blade. "If you can't beat them, heat them!"

As the Red Knight came to the tornado he ran around it while digging his blade into the tornado, setting the tempest ablaze.

Kenny cheered as he typed on his laptop. "Fire requires oxygen to sustain itself! And Max is using the oxygen from Panther's tornado to create more fire!"

"How did Max come up with that by himself?" asked Blaze as she folded her arms.

"How do like them apples?" cheered Max. "Your tornado's looking a little, hot."

Unmei didn't seem at all fazed by this. "You really are an idiot!" she hissed. "I always planned for you to break through! You are, after all, the reincarnation of the Crimson Hero!"

"Then what are you going to do about it?" Max shot back.

"Roar Panther!" ordered Unmei as the Black Cat emerged from the shadows within the now fiery tornado and roared. The sound caused the tornado to fall apart and sent giant waves of wind smashing into the Red Knight, shattering it. In addition, the fire from the tempest was also knocked towards Swordsman, which sent it flying into the air.

"That was a short-lived victory for Mr. Smith!" taunted Unmei. "Too bad it's game over!"

Max laughed. "Far from it actually!" He waved a finger at his opponent. "You forgot you've left Panther wide open from a aerial attack!"

Unmei's eyes widened and she looked up to see Swordsman, still on fire, flying downwards towards the defenseless Panther.

Max threw his hand out and declared, "Flame Sword Slash!"

The Red Knight emerged and charged downwards with its sword at the ready.

"Counterattack Panther!" commanded Unmei as she pointed to the sky. The Black Cat leapt up to face the Knight and roared.

"No mercy Swordsman!" declared Max and the Red Knight dodged one of the Black Cat's in coming paws and slashed the cat in half, destroying it.

"What?" gasped Unmei.

"Today's forecast calls for cloudy with a chance of getting your butt kicked!" cheered Max as his flaming bey came down on top of Panther and sent sparks flying while doing critical damage to the dark bey.

"Nice try Mr. Smith!" spat Unmei. "But you underestimate your chances!"

Max smirked in response. "I'm not one of those people who count their chicks before they've hatched! Show her Swordsman!"

Swordsman flipped itself, digging its performance tip into Panther's face bolt and ripping out a big chunk of it. Unmei screamed in pain as a giant slash mark appeared on the right side of her face and leaked blood.

"Max one," chuckled the Prince of Fire. "Unmei zero."

Unmei continued to scream, clutching her face and she feel to her knees. She screamed a little more before her shouts slowly turned into malicious laughter. She looked up at Max, apparently now unfazed by the amount of blood leaking from her face.

"You are good," she chuckled malevolently. "And too think I thought I had you beat for a moment. You're the first to actually deal severe damage to Panther. But the game has only just begun. Take a look."

Max and the crowd looked at Panther and gasped, despite a chunk of its face bolt missing, and the damage from Swordsman's aerial attack, the bey was still spinning at full power.

"That attack must have done some damage!" protested Simon. "It actually ripped out a piece of Panther! How can it be unfazed?"

"At least Max's bey is still spinning at full power as well," added Kiara.

"This is definitely strange," commented Kenny as he typed on his laptop. "Every time Panther or Swordsman get damaged, they manage to recover enough to continue spinning at full power. But considering the hits they've been taking, they should only be spinning at half. Somehow, they're able to keep going beyond what they should be."

Kiara looked to Max and then Unmei. "I don't think this battles going to end well," she stated.

Unmei tapped her chin with her index finger. "Now, what to do next? How to skin this cat?"

Max gritted his teeth. 'So far,' he thought. 'Nothing has failed to phase her or inflict any _real _damage to Panther. She can take anything I can dish out. But it appears my bey is able to do the same thing today.'

_"__You're welcome," _stated the voice as it appeared in Max's head.

'You're doing this?' Max thought in reply.

_"__In a way yes, but more so it is simply you learning how to use more of your power. You are feeding your bey order energy to sustain its spin power while Unmei is using her shadow energy to sustain Panther." _

'How can I beat her?' Max replied in thought. 'If she can just supply her bey with power to keep on going.'

_"__This is a survival of the fittest battle. It all depends on who gives out first or who manages to produce a strong enough attack to take the opponents bey out before their opponent can regain their strength." _

'This may just be the most important battle I've ever been in,' Max thought. 'And there's no way I'm going to lose it.'

"Bring it Unmei!" he challenged.

"Poor Max," mocked Unmei. "So naïve. So innocent. You have no idea what you're getting into."

"I beg to differ," the fire blader answered.

"Let me show you what I mean!" Unmei shouted. "Special Move! Shadow Slash!"

The dark bey melted away into the shadows, and vanished almost instantly.

"Hey where did your bey go?" protested Max.

"In the shadows," answered Unmei. "Where my bey was born."

Max raised an eyebrow. "Born?"

"You'll find out soon enough," she snickered. "If you last that long! Panther!"

The dark bey emerged from the shadows and smashed into Swordsman, knocking it off course.

"Strike back Swordsman!" ordered Max frantically, but the opposing bey vanished into the shadows again before Swordsman could attack.

"You snooze you lose," mocked Unmei.

"Darn it," Max cursed under his breath.

"Again Panther," hissed Unmei as the bey appeared once again and struck Swordsman, sending it spinning away uncontrollably. Max commanded a counterattack, but Panther vanished into the darkness once again.

"You think you can beat me by sneak attacking?" questioned Max.

Unmei shrugged, but let out a small smile that Max didn't notice.

"Something isn't right," commented Kenny. "Unmei's attacks are effective but are not doing that much damage at all to Swordsman. What's her edge?"

That's when Kiara noticed that Swordsman wasn't spinning as strong as before.

"I thought you said the attacks weren't doing that much damage to Swordsman?" she questioned.

Kenny typed on his laptop and adjusted his glasses. "It isn't. I think Panther is stealing Swordsman's energy."

"What?" gasped Simon.

Max growled as Panther struck his bey again and melted away into the darkness.

'If only I could predict her attacks,' he thought.

'The fool still hasn't figured it out,' Unmei thought. 'Panther is stealing his energy from his bey. Soon I'll be able to take him out. Maybe he isn't so smart after all.'

"Swordsman run!" commanded Max as his bey began to spin around the arena in all directions.

"You think you can dodge my attacks by going crazy?" Unmei loafed.

"Yes," replied Max.

"That answer is incorrect!" hissed Unmei as Panther emerged once again and smashed into Swordsman, despite its speed and sent it off course. That was when Max saw that his bey was losing spin.

"What!" he cried.

"Finally figured it out huh?" Unmei laughed. "Try and get out of this one."

"But those attacks couldn't be doing that much damage!" Max protested.

"True," Unmei answered as she licked her lips. "But fortunately for me, Panther is stealing your spin, defense and health. It sucking it all away like a leech."

"But I can stop it now that I know what's going on!" Max responded.

Unmei snorted. "How? You can't dodge my attacks and you can't fight Panther because it's cloaked in shadows. Face it, you have three options: A) Give up and let me win. B) Continue on and suffer in pain. And C) Run home to mummy and cry. Take your pick."

"I'll go with D) Win!" Max shot back. "Show them the light Swordsman!"

The Red Knight burst from its bey and held its flaming sword up for all to see.

"I think you meant D) Lose," snickered Unmei.

"My light will illuminate the darkness!" exclaimed Max as he threw his hand into the air and the light from Swordsman's blade brought light to the entire stadium, exposing Panther.

"Say what?" questioned Unmei.

"Now Swordsman!" ordered Max. "Flame Sword Slash!"

The Red Knight charged in and slashed Panther with its flaming sword, the attack knocking it away and sending it spiraling out of control.

Max's crest glowed and he concentrated, this sending energy to Swordsman to recover its stolen power.

"Phew," the Prince of Fire sighed with relief.

"Another powerful move," Unmei said, impressed. "Good, I guess I can go all out against you."

"You can try!" replied Max. "But it isn't going to be enough to beat me!"

"I can always try can't I?" laughed Unmei gruesomely. "Panther! Special Move! Tension Fury!"

The dark bey moved to the outside of the arena where it began to spin at high speeds and sped around the arena super fast.

"Show them your claws Panther!" commanded Unmei as the Black Cat emerged from its bey and leapt to the center of the arena, ready for battle.

"I'll meet your challenge head on!" cried Max. "Show them what true power is Swordsman!"

The Red Knight burst from its bey yet again and landed in the arena and faced the Black Cat.

"Shall we dance," hissed Unmei as the Black Cat pounced.

"Bring it!" challenged Max as the Red Knight swung its blade.

The two beast's hit head on, both attacks knocking each other back. The Knight recovered first and raised its blade for another attack.

"Roar Panther!" interrupted Unmei and the Black Cat did just that, the force of its screech blowing the Knight back.

"Push through Swordsman!" encouraged Max as his bey beast did just that and prepared to slash the Black Cat again.

"Pounce!" laughed Unmei as the Cat lunged at the Knight, scraping and clawing at its armor. It claws were strong enough to pierce the armor and was dishing out severe damage to the Red Knight.

"Heat this up Swordsman!" ordered Max as the Red Knight's sword exploded into flames, the attack burning and throwing the Black Cat away.

"Sprint Panther!" commanded Unmei and the Black Cat began to leapt and run around the Knight. It turned to follow the beats, but it was getting faster.

Max himself was starting to lose the position of the Black Cat.

'It's getting to fast for me to keep track of,' he thought in panic. 'This was her plan.'

"Time flies when you're having fun!" taunted Unmei. "And I'm having so much! Show them Panther!"

Now a blur, the Black Cat lunged at the Knight, slashing at its helmet and then its chest and then its cape and finally its legs. It happened in less then a second, and the Knight had no time to counterattack as the Black Cat had already moved away.

"Shit!" exclaimed Max.

"If this goes on Max will lose," panicked Blaze.

"Not good," added Kiara.

'What would Gingka Hagane do in this situation?' thought Max. 'It's way to fast to face head on, so maybe a long range attack would be more effective. Wait, it's moving way to fast to hit though. Unless I use an attack that covers the whole field. The whole field, that's it!'

"Power up Swordsman!" cried Max and the Red Knight retreated to its bey and began to glow red.

"What are you plotting Max Smith?" asked Unmei. "Or are you running scared?"

"I call it a tactical fall back!" retorted Max. "One that's going to make me win! Focus all that power into one attack Swordsman!"

The fiery bey was set ablaze with fire and took on as much energy as possible and built it up while spinning to the center of the arena.

"Now go!" roared Max as he fist pumped the air. "Special Move! Flame Burst!"

There was an explosion of flames from the Swordsman bey, sending it crashing into the Black Cat incinerating it and singing the bey it belonged to.

Unmei flinched as she felt the heat her bey was experiencing but was able to shake off most of her burns despite the stinging pain.

"Excellent," she commented. "Now it's time to see how you react to this!"

Max's eyes widened. "Even that wasn't enough," he muttered under his breath.

"Special Move!" continued Unmei. "Night Hunter!"

The Black cat emerged from its bey and pounced at the fire bey, locking its powerful jaw into it.

"What the heck?" cried Max. "It's trying to eat my bey!"

Unmei's right eye bulged. "Today's special meal! Flame Swordsman!" she taunted devilishly.

Max watched in horror as the Black Cat sunk its teeth into his bey, breaking more of the fusion wheel and cracking the energy ring.

"Enough!" he snapped. "Run through it Swordsman!"

The Red Knight emerged and struck its blade through the Black Cat's head, shattering it before smashing its blade into the Panther bey itself.

Unmei ignored the wound on the back of her head and laughed. "I can't believe I've finally met someone like you Max. Some one strong enough to actually pose a challenge. It's almost a pity I'll have to kill you. Almost."

Max gritted his teeth. "Still think you're going to win huh?"

"I don't think!" Unmei answered. "I know! You saw how I crushed little Fang right? Well now it's your turn!"

The crowd prepared themselves for what they knew was about to happen.

'Oh shit!' thought Max. 'She's going to use that dark move!'

"Darkness!" exclaimed Unmei as she threw her hands out. "Grant me your strength to devour the light!"

A dark energy like vortex opened up at the top of the stadium, causing the crowd to gasp in fear.

Then, two dark lightning bolts shot down from the vortex and landed in Unmei's hands.

"Hold down the fort Swordsman!" warned Max. "It's about to get rough!"

"Dark Move!" laughed Unmei. "Dark Hunt!"

Unmei threw the dark energy balls in her hands at her bey, which exploded with dark energy, which began to rip apart the arena and send dark waves shooting towards Swordsman.

"Oh boy," Max said to himself.

"It was fun while it lasted!" laughed Unmei. "But all good things must come to an end! Don't worry, I'll always remember the battle against the Crimson Hero!"

"Right there again!" interrupted Max. "You mention the Crimson Hero! How do you even know that I'm its reincarnation?"

"Because like you I am the reincarnation of someone," Unmei answered.

Max's eyes widened. "You're a reincarnation of someone?"

"Yes," Unmei responded. "I'll tell you the details if you can stop this!"

The dark energy waves came together to form a giant version of the Black Cat, and it roared, causing the crowd to cry out in fear.

Unmei laughed malevolently, as dark energy from the giant Black Cat began to destroy what remained of the bey arena.

"Now stomp Max Smith flat!" she commanded wickedly as the Black Cat roared again and held its paw up in preparation to attack.

"I'm sorry little kitty," Max stated. "But this is the bird zone!"

"Cat's eat birds Smith," argued Unmei.

"Not this one!" cried Max. "Special Move! Phoenix Fury! Rise from the ashes more powerful then before and vanquish my enemies!"

Max threw his hand out as the Red Knight appeared and held its blade up. The Phoenix composed of fire shot out of the blade and soared into the sky and screeched.

"I admire your courage!" spat Unmei. "But it won't be enough to defeat me!"

"In case you forgot," chuckled Max. "A good magician always keeps an ace up his sleeve! Now show them what you're made of Phoenix!"

The Phoenix screeched again before diving towards the head of the giant Black Cat. The beast tried to swing its paw to intercept, but was too slow and the Phoenix dug its talons into the Cat's head causing it to roar in pain.

"Now from all over Phoenix!" ordered Max as his beast backed away from the Black Cat to a safe distance.

"You'll pay for that attack Smith!" growled Unmei as she clutched the wound on her forehead.

"I beg to differ!" the Prince of Fire retorted as the Phoenix began to shot waves of fire balls towards the Black Cat. Each one exploded on impact and dealt major damage to the Cat.

The crowd stood up and all began to cheer for Max. "Max! Max! Max! Max!"

"Why does he get a cheer squad?" protested Blaze in envy.

"Because it's the final battle of the tournament," answered Simon. "And he's a massive show off."

"At least he's going to win," added Kiara.

But Kenny only had a frown on his face. "I'm not sure if I can agree with you on that one. I'm getting strange readings from Panther, readings I've never seen before."

"It will take more then fire balls to defeat the great and powerful Dark Midnight Panther!" declared Unmei.

"After every crisis there's a chance!" declared Max. "Let me show you! Use the last of your power Phoenix and obliterate!"

The Phoenix screeched one final time before soaring towards the Black Cat.

"You think the same trick will work twice on me?" spat Unmei.

"No!" answered Max. "But this isn't the same trick!"

"What?"

The Phoenix suddenly transformed into a swirling mass of fire that rocketed through the Black Cat's front legs and then flew through its stomach before incinerating its head.

The Black Cat roared in pain as it was enveloped in fire and crumbled to the ground, where it exploded into flames.

Max jumped up and down in joy as the crowd cheered his name.

"Max! Max! Max! Max! Max! Max! Max! Max! Max! Max! Max! Max! Max!"

As the explosion cleared, Unmei emerged, greatly injured as she had taken all the damage her bey beast had just taken. Her clothes were ripped and torn. Her hair was singed, and burn marks were all over her body. But a giant smirk was plastered across her face.

"Now you've done it Smith," she chuckled devilishly.

Max raised an eyebrow. "How's that?" he questioned.

"Because I planned for you to get this far from the beginning!" she laughed.

"What?" Max questioned. "You mean you wanted me to survive all of your attacks?"

Unmei chuckled evilly. "Oh yes," she answered. "You didn't really think this whole time I wanted to simply beat you did you?"

"Maybe," Max answered. "But why would you want me to make it this far."

Unmei sighed. "You're unique Max," she explained. "You're the reincarnation of one of the greatest and most powerful human being to ever had existed. So just imagine how strong I'll get if I zap all that hidden power you got."

"So you're doing your bosses dirty work I see!" retorted Max.

Unmei shook her head. "No, this is my plan. Of course I could never have gotten this far if they hadn't removed Unmei from the picture."

"Wait! What?" gasped Max. "But you're Unmei!"

"That I am," chuckled Unmei as shadow tendrils shot from her body and raised her into the air. "Or at least I'm part of her, the darkest part!"

There was an explosion of shadows from Panther, and it surrounded the arena and built a dome. But it didn't stop there, the shadows shot to the stands where it tied every student and teacher down. It spread to the doors and windows, blocking them, and destroyed all the lights, leaving the stadium in darkness.

"What the hell!" cursed Max as he examined his surroundings. "Leave them all out of this!" he demanded. "This is between us! And us only!"

"But it doesn't," Unmei loafed as the shadows swirled around her and transformed her appearance. Her skin became pitch black and her eyes became clear white. Her hair extended to her ankles and her clothes turned into purple and black garments.

The only thing Max could say was, "What the heck is going on?"

"Shall we take a trip down memory lane?" snickered Unmei as time around herself and Max froze.

"What's happening?" questioned the Flame Swordsman blader.

Unmei ignored him as a dark fog surrounded them.

"Let's start at the beginning of Unmei's childhood," the Panther blader stated as their surroundings changed to that of a bey stadium.

* * *

><p>Unmei had vanished and Max examined his surroundings. There were little kids everywhere battling. But a certain kid caught his eye. It was a young girl with long curly chocolate hair and green eyes. She had a thin figure and wore a black jumper and blue jeans. She was in the middle of a battle with a boy about her own age.<p>

"Go Leone!" cheered the young girl which Max recognized as a young Unmei. Her red bey zoomed forward to clash with the opponent's bey.

"Go Bull!" cried the boy blader. "Show them your strength."

Max watched as Leone plowed into Bull and knocked it out with ease.

"What!" the boy cried as he watched his bey fly through the air and come to a stop at his feet. "I didn't even get to attack! She's way to strong! This isn't fair!"

The boy took his bey and ran off, crying. Unmei recalled Leone and sighed.

"Hey are you Unmei?" asked a voice.

The young Unmei turned around to face a gang of rough looking teenagers.

"Yes," Unmei replied.

The head teen took out a purple Aries bey and declared, "I challenge you to a bey battle! They say you're incredibly strong for some one of your age! Do you accept?"

Unmei smiled. "Of course."

The teen boy took his place at the side of a bey arena and prepared his bey while Unmei set Leone.

"Three!" cried the teen.

"Two!" added the teen boy's friends.

"One!" finished Unmei.

"Let It Rip!"

Aries and Leone shot into the arena, ready for battle.

"I'll make this quick!" cried the teen. "Aries! Barrage Attack!"

A purple ram emerged from its bey and charged towards Leone.

"Roar Leone!" piped up Unmei as a red Lion emerged from her bey and roared at the Ram, shattering it.

"Say what?" cried the teen in shock.

"Now charge Leone!" declared Unmei. "Blazing Roar Slash!"

The Red Lion roared once again and slashed at Aries, sending it flying out of the arena with a crash.

The teen hung his head in defeat. "That's not possible," he cursed. "I'm the strongest blader at my school. I couldn't have lost this easily." He looked up at his opponent, pointed at her, and declared, "Freak!"

The teen's friends began pointing and declaring, "Freak!" as well. Soon a whole crowd of kids formed and called Unmei names.

"Freak! Weirdo! Creep! Freak! Weirdo! Creep! Freak! Weirdo! Creep! Freak! Weirdo! Creep! Freak! Weirdo! Creep! Freak! Weirdo! Creep!"

Unmei began to cry and ran off.

"Kind of makes me feel sorry for her," Max commented.

* * *

><p>That was when he was enveloped in the fog again and the scene changed to a house. It was small, run down and old. He was standing in a small hall. He stood in front a door, which was opened slightly. He peeked in and noticed the young Unmei, lying on a bed with what appeared to be her father trying to comfort her.<p>

"You can't do this any more Unmei," the father stated.

"You don't get it do you!" cried Unmei in reply as tears streamed from her eyes. "If I win all the time, people will pick on me and call me a freak!"

"But this isn't doing any good for your confidence or for the people you lose against," Unmei's father explained. "Tanking to people will only give them false hope."

"You don't get it!" snapped Unmei as she buried her face in a pillow. "You'll never understand me! Get out!"

* * *

><p>The shadows swirled around again and changed the scene to a car. Max was sitting in the back along with Unmei. Her parents were in the front.<p>

"I can't believe we're going out for ice-cream!" cheered Unmei. "I've never had any before on a cone. It will hopefully taste better then from a tub."

"It will be a good experience," Unmei's father added.

"Now don't eat too much Unmei or you'll get sick," Unmei's mother warned her.

"Don't worry Mum, " the little girl replied. "I won't." That's when she a magnificent and beautiful looking butterfly flutter past.

"Look dad!" cried Unmei as she pointed to the sky. Her father looked up with his wife and didn't notice the truck heading towards them. It was all over in a second, the truck rammed the car from the side, flipping it. There was screams, blood flying and windows breaking.

Unmei breathed heavily, screaming in pain as blood leaked from her head and body. Her parents were unresponsive and remained still.

Max was still watching from inside the car and nearly began to cry when he saw Unmei crying out to her parents.

"No!" she cried as a fireman pulled the door of the car open and grabbed Unmei.

"It's okay," the fireman said. "I've got you."

Unmei reached towards her mother's bloody hand and grabbed the bey she was holding.

Max's eyes widened. The bey was none other then Dark Midnight Panther. He then turned to watch as Unmei was taken away, the then the car exploded into flames.

* * *

><p>The scene changed again, and now Max was in a hospital, sitting on a chair next to a bed where Unmei lay.<p>

A doctor entered the room with a police officer.

"She lost so much blood in the crash," said the doctor. "It's a miracle she survived."

"Can't find any relatives," the officer replied. "Looks like she'll be sent to an orphanage."

* * *

><p>The scene changed again, and this time, Max was in a small orphanage. An old woman sat at a desk in front of rows of children. Unmei was in the back.<p>

"I'm going to tell you all how things work around here," scowled the old woman. "There is to be no fighting. No talking during bedtime. You don't whine or complain. There is to be no drugs, no gum, no cigarettes and no games. Is that clear?"

"Yes Miss," the students replied simultaneously. The kids immediately ran off to their rooms and Max followed Unmei. He watched as she sneakily took out her bey and hid under the bed. She launched it and commanded it to spin on the spot.

"Mum, dad," she whispered sadly.

* * *

><p>The fog appeared again and showed different scenes. There were some, where Unmei was beaten and abused by older kids. Some, where she played pranks on kids to get back at them. And times where'd she sit in the corner and cry.<p>

* * *

><p>The scene changed to a rainy day, where Unmei now older was running towards her old house. She looked into the window and saw a family having a party inside. The parents were having a fun wrestle with their kids. Unmei began to cry and that's when the people inside noticed her. The walked to the front door and opened it, but Unmei ran.<p>

One of the sons ran after her, shouting out to her.

"Leave me alone!" demanded Unmei as she took out her launcher and ripped Dark Midnight Panther at the boy, the bey going straight through his arm and sending blood flying.

"Ah!" the boy screamed as he fell to the ground.

"I'm sorry!" apologized Unmei as she recalled her now blood stained bey. "I didn't…mean…to…"

She began to cry again and ran out into the night as the rain came down.

"This is interesting," Max said as he watched.

* * *

><p>The scene changed once more, and now Max stood within a studio and watched as Unmei, looking like she did in the present was packing up some speakers and wires.<p>

"Yo Unmei," a man called out as he ducked into the room. "You got a letter." He chucked the letter to Unmei, which she caught with ease.

"Who would send me a letter?" she questioned as she opened it up and read it.

_Dear Miss Unmei, _

_We are glad to inform you that you have been chosen to be one of this years attendees at the Beyblade Legends Academy. As you may have already heard, the Beyblade Legends Academy's goal is to train the next generation of beyblade legends. _

_We monitor bladers all around the world, and only the ones that we think that have potential of becoming a champion are accepted into our academy._

_We have been monitoring you for a while now and we believe you have the skills capable to be at our academy. You will also be attending with many other great bladers and we hope you have a comfortable stay. _

_Your boat will be leaving in a week. We hope to see great things from you._

_Chancellor Jones of Beyblade Legends Academy. _

"This could be fun," Unmei commented.

* * *

><p>The scene swirled and now Max stood within Unmei's room. It had white walls and a black bed. A black desk stood in one corner and a black shelf in the opposite. Unmei lay on her bed reading. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.<p>

"Who is it?" asked Unmei.

"Professor Viper," answered the knocker.

Unmei got off her bed and walked to the door and opened it. Before she could say anything, Viper sent his fist into her stomach and she went flying back and hit the ground with a thump.

Unmei leapt to her feet and looked at the grinning Viper.

"Sorry for interrupting you Unmei," Viper hissed. "But I need you to come with me. There's something I need you to help me with concerning your powers."

"Never!" cried Unmei as she took out Panther and readied her bey.

"I'm afraid I'll have to insist!" retorted Viper as he prepared his bey, Serpent.

"Let It Rip!" they both cried as their beys exploded from their launchers and clashed.

"Sorry Professor," mussed Unmei. "But you can't win."

Viper adjusted his glasses. "Perhaps, but I was always one of those people who felt cheating was just another strategy for winning!"

Two cloaked figures that Max recognized as Athena and Hermes burst in through the window and launched their beys.

"Go Chaos Messenger!"

"Go Chaos Spinstress!"

The blue angelic man with the staff with snakes appeared and smashed Panther before the pink woman weaved her web and caught Panther, and smashed it into the ground.

Unmei screamed as a giant snake emerged from Serpent and devoured her.

Max gasped. "Professor Viper is one of the bad guys?" And this is what led Unmei to her possession."

"Wrong Max Smith," Unmei's voice answered as she appeared and their surroundings changed to a dark void.

"Then what!" demanded Max.

"Long ago," explained Unmei. "One of the Crimson Hero's closet friends, a woman called Diana wanted to achieve ultimate power. So she sought out the dark powers of the world and crafted the original Dark Midnight Panther. The Crimson Hero stopped her however from using the dark beys powers to steal everyone's lives to gain ultimate power. The bey was then passed down through the generations, and ended up in my mother's hands. But you see, to avoid dark energy manifesting in the new owner, a special ritual was conducted. But since Unmei took the bey from her mother when she died, she didn't get that protection. All her sorrow and pain lead to me, Diana, being reborn."

"Holy crap!" Max gasped.

Diana laughed as the darkness swirled around them and transported them back in time.

* * *

><p>Max was floating over an ancient arena of some sort, quite large and made of marble. The outside was covered with torches and a woman who looked identical to Unmei stood in the center with her bey on a podium.<p>

That was when Max noticed people were in the stands, trapped by shadows and were unable to escape.

"What the heck?" cried Max.

"Soon," chuckled Diana. "Soon I shall use all of their lives to grant me all the power I need to become a god!"

"I beg to differ!" interrupted a voice. Diana turned and watched as a red armored knight appeared. It was the Crimson Hero.

"My king," chuckled Diana. "How good to see you again."

"Why are you doing this Diana?" asked the Crimson Hero. "Why would you sacrifice everyone we know and love to gain power? This is not the way!"

"You insolent fool!" scowled Diana. "You truly think we can gain true power by being goody-too-shoes? If we want to defeat the 'Beast' then we must do what is necessary!"

"I see your point," replied the Crimson Hero. "But I refuse to sacrifice other people to defeat the 'Beast!' We'd just be doing exactly what he wants!"

"You're blind, King!" spat Diana. "I'll have no choice to make you my alpha tribute for the ritual!"

"Alpha?" questioned the King.

"I'll feed off of your incredible order powers to fuel the ritual and gain the ultimate power!" laughed Diana as she shot a shadow tendril at the Crimson Hero, which latched on to him.

"Now I'll use your own powers to take everyone's lives," taunted Diana.

"Forgive me Diana," interrupted the Crimson Hero. "But I came prepared. Your _ritual_ has a reverse spell."

"What?"

"_Azbycxdwevfugthsirjqkplomn," _the Crimson Hero chanted. "_Azbycxdwevfugthsirjqkplomn. _"_Azbycxdwevfugthsirjqkplomn." _

The shadow tendril attached to him broke away and Diana was enveloped in flames.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" she screamed as she was incinerated and vanished.

The crowd cheered for their king as he approached Dark Midnight Panther and picked it up.

"This power must be sealed away forever…I'm sorry Diana…"

* * *

><p>The scene transformed and Max was back at the bey arena with UnmeiDiana.

"Now I shall have my revenge and use your energy to finally gain what is rightfully mine!" Diana declared.

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" retorted Max, enraged. "I'll defeat you just as my past self defeated you all those years ago!"

"I highly doubt it," snorted Diana. "This time I'll win! And to make sure of it, I'll defeat you with Panther! Ultimate Move!"

Dark energy flowed in Diana and then she poured it all into Panther which radiated with purple electricity.

"ECLIPSE!"

Dark energy exploded from Panther and surrounded the stadium, making everything go black.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Max said to himself.

"Let the darkness devour all!" exclaimed Diana as she threw her arms out and burst into insane laughter.

Ma watched in horror as Panther went into reverse rotation and began to wobble greatly and let out bursts of dark energy.

"Die Max Smith! Die!" roared Diana as Panther spun towards Swordsman.

"Not today!" Max answered fiercely. "And I'm not afraid of the dark so your 'eclipse' ain't going to faze me! Counterattack Swordsman! Flame Sword Slash!"

The Red Knight rose from his bey and drew his flaming sword.

Diana smirked. "Nice try!"

The darkness around them absorbed the flames from the Red Knight's blade and knocked it back.

"Huh?" was what left Max's lips. "What just happened?"

"The light fuels the eclipse!" explained Diana wickedly. "It's over!"

"It doesn't look that way!" retorted Max, referring to how dangerously Panther was wobbling.

"All apart of the plan!" laughed Diana. "Show him Panther!"

A dark burst of energy shot from Panther and transformed into a giant cathead, which roared and smashed into Swordsman.

Max screamed in pain as his clothes were torn and he felt slashes cross all over his chest, arms and legs.

"AGAIN!" roared Diana.

More dark energy smashed into Swordsman, shattering its energy ring and causing Max to vomit up blood violently.

"No…" Max coughed as he fell to the ground in defeat; his bey was just about to come to a stop.

"I win!" cheered Diana as shadow tendrils shot to Max and attached to him. The Prince of Fire coughed more blood as the tendrils began to suck the life from him and he went pale and extremely skinny. In addition, his crest burnt out.

Diana laughed hysterically as she felt the energy of order surge through her.

"Now to tribute them all!" she exclaimed as shadow tendrils shot from her body and latched on too all of the trapped crowd and sucked out their life force. Like Max, they went pale and become super skinny.

Max watched, horrified but could do nothing. He was too weak to stand. He could feel the last bit of his life being sucked out of him.

'It's over,' he thought. 'I've failed.'

"Do not give up Max!" shouted a voice. At that moment, Luther's spirit appeared, coloured gold.

"Luther," Max coughed.

"You can't give up now Max," argued Luther. "Not when you're so close."

Max muttered, "It's over. I'm dead. She's won."

"Did Hercules give up when his lover died?" asked Luther. "No, he went to the underworld to save her. Did Super-Man give up when Doomsday kill him? No, he rose again to face Mongul. And did Harry Potter give up when Lord Voldermort rose to power. No, he fought on and defeated him! Don't fall onto your knees Max, fight back."

"I don't think I can't," Max replied. "It's too late for me."

Luther sighed. "Let me tell you something about life," he stated. "It ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It'll beat you to your knees if you let it. Nobody, is going to hit us harder then life. But it ain't about how you can hit; it's about how hard you can get hit and keep on moving forward. That's how winning is done!"

Max managed a smile. "Still stealing quotes I see."

"It worked didn't it," Luther replied before vanishing.

Max mustered all the strength he could find and managed to stand up and face Diana.

"Impossible!" she cried in horror. "How can you be standing? You should be dead!"

"I won't bow to you!" retorted Max as he grabbed the tendril that was attached to him and ripped it off. "I'll fight till the last breath leaves my body!"

His crest glowed and energy flooded him, healing all of his wounds and giving him his energy back.

"Destroy him Panther!" commanded Diana as she continued to suck away everyone's energy.

"SWORDSMAN!" commanded Max. "FLAME SWORD SLASH!"

Swordsman exploded with red order energy and began to regain its spin, eventually spinning faster then it should be able to.

"No you should have lost!" protested Diana in anger.

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" roared Max as the Red Knight emerged and drew its flaming sword. It shot out a flame stream that began to overpower the darkness.

"I REFUSE TO LOSE AGAIN!" erupted Diana as the Black Cat emerged to face the Knight and unleashed streams of darkness to fight the light.

"My light will obliterate the darkness!" exclaimed Max with everything he had and pushed his order energy into his bey.

Max's side of the stadium was enveloped in red energy.

"DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" roared Diana as her side of the stadium was enveloped in purple energy.

"SWORDSMAN!"

"PANTHER!"

The two attacks colliding exploded, literally blowing the roof of the stadium off and sending the two beys, along with Max and Diana flying.

As Max and Diana went up into the sky while trapped in a white light, they growled at each other and powered themselves up. They death starred each other as they fell back down.

"Here we go," Max stated.

"I'm going to kill you," Diana replied.

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" they both exclaimed as they came back down to the arena and lunged at each other, each throwing a punch that collided their powers.

At the same time their beys fell and clashed, creating an explosion of white energy again.

"You can't win Max!" taunted Diana as their energies clashed. "The light creates the darkness!"

"Exactly!" retorted Max. "You can't have one without the other! That's why I'm going to win! Because in the end, the light can extinguish the darkness!"

"NEVER!"

"SWORDSMAN! OBLITERATE!"

As the two beys clashed, Swordsman managed to dig part of its spiked fusion wheel, due to the damage it had taken, in Panther and it got caught and ripped the whole side of it out.

Diana's eyes widened in horror.

"FINISH IT!" exclaimed Max as the red light overpowered the darkness and created an explosion, sending both beys flying back and both bladers as well.

The shadow tendrils attached to the crowd broke off, giving everyone their energy back.

"Is it over?" asked Simon.

"Who won?" added Blaze.

As the smoke cleared, both Max and Diana were lying on the ground and Panther was smashed into the bottom of the destroyed bey arena while Swordsman was miraculously still spinning.

"And the winner is Max Smith!" announced Mr. Jones. "Which means the winner of the tournament is Team Nova Flare!"

The crowd burst into applause and cheered for Max.

Team Nova Flare ran over to Max and helped him up.

"Did we win?" he asked.

"You bet," replied Kiara.

Max held his hand out and Swordsman sprung back into it.

"You did good buddy," he commented.

That was when Diana vanished and the darkness from Panther vanished forever, transforming it into Shining Moonlight Panther. Diana was gone, for good.

Unmei stirred and managed to look up at Max.

"Thank you," she muttered. "But…it's…far…from…over…the…Purge…is…coming…watch…out…Nemesis…heir…is…rising…"

She then slumped down unconscious.

"Max! Max! Max! Max! Max!" cheered the crowd.

"We won," stated Max. "But the war is just beginning."

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Continued: Next Time – Chaotic Order<strong>

**The Purge finally begins and Zygor's true plans are finally set in motion. As the academy is plagued by strange anomalies, the gang tries to find out a way to save the unconscious students. But as the figure that has been attacking kids finally reveals themselves, a new mission and deadly battle begins for Max! And if he loses, he'll get a one-way ticket…to the grave! **

**"****What happens when you discover truths are lies?" they asked. "What happens when you discover good is bad." The figure smirked sinisterly. "You get Chaotic Order!" **

* * *

><p><strong>MY RESPONSE TO TURTLESWIFT11: <strong>

**Turtleswift11: **It was sadistic wasn't it? And there was some in this chapter as well. Happy to know you enjoyed the bey battle, and the violence. It was a nice guess on how everything was going to go. You were close, but you weren't right exactly. The first part about Max and Unmei is right, except Max can only free Unmei and not save her. You'd think everyone would wake up, wouldn't you. But, they don't. You'll find out more next chapter. Also, the season doesn't end here. We still have 13 chapters to go through. Seven in the Chaotic Order arc and six in the Dark Oath arc.

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER AND THE BATTLE! REMEMBER TO ****REVIEW**** NOW! AND GET PUMPED FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE '****CHAOTIC ORDE****R' ARC NEXT CHAPTER WHERE LORD ZYGOR'S PLANS FINALLY BEGIN TO UNRAVEL AND WE GET TO SEE MORE AWESOME BATTLES AND FIGHTS! ALSO, TELL ME WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF THE ****TRAILER**** I WROTE AT THE START OF THIS CHAPTER! **


	36. Chapter 36: Chaotic Order

**Here it is people, the thrilling beginning to the "Purge" and the Chaotic Order arc! Today, we finally find out who the mysterious figure that attacked Ninel and Terry was. We also begin a new mission too discover a way to help the students who have fallen unconscious. But it will lead Max in a deadly battle, where if he loses, he'll get a one-way ticket…to the grave! **

* * *

><p><strong>But first the review responses: <strong>

**AKA99: **Thanks for thinking of the previous chapter as epic! And you asked if the students and teachers are okay, they are. In fact, there's a line in the previous chapter that states this. Guess you missed it. And yes, Spirit Caller is a fitting name for Simon, and we'll find out why he's called this later on.

**Alpha Dragonis: **Awesome and intense was my goal! Thank you for loving the previous chapter!

**MarsTwilight: **No, Unmei isn't going to help the gang out. She's in a coma as well now as you'll see in this chapter. At the end where her bey transforms into Shining Moonlight Panther was simply stating that the darkness within Panther and what remains of Diana is now completely gone. Thanks for liking the battle and I love putting in twists! Glad I got you pumped for this chapter!

**TheNightmareBringer: **You're at a loss for words. Good, I was going for a speechless chapter! Nice to know you loved it and yes, things are going to get darker indeed! And we'll be also introduced to a very big plot twist this chapter!

**Kawaiino Tenshi Kiki: **Happy to know you thought the last chapter was epic and wonderful! I'm also happy to know I've got you really pumped for this chapter! It's all been building to this since the Tournament arc started! And yes, Max won! There was no way I was going to have the bad guy win! At least not yet… Glad you're pumped for this chapter!

**Turtleswift11: **Nice to know you thought the chapter was great! And a thanks for telling me the trailer was good too!

**Gingercookiessnaps: **It's okay that you haven't been reviewing lately, it's okay as long as you review when you can. Thank you for loving the previous chapter and thinking of it as awesome! Mana will reappear in either a supporting or main roll for at least one chapter in the new arc. And you haven't given me the update on Mana. However, I won't be needing it till next season. Yep, Mana has been confirmed to be returning for Season 2: Dark Prophecy. I've read your profile and I know you've updated her. Although I like the new Mana, I did in fact like the old one. I liked writing her chapter in this story and I'm sure I'll have run writing her next one. I'd also like to say thank you for being impressed by my improving writing.

**AlchemistWarriorDiamondDust: **Glad to know you're pumped to read future chapters! And we won't actually find out who Nemesis Heir is until the final chapter!

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><p><strong>NEWS ON THE TRAILER: <strong>**Because of the positive response I got on the trailer (thank you AKA99, MarsTwilight, Kawaiino Tenshi Kiki, Turtleswift11 and Gingercookiessnaps), it is now the official trailer for the story and is now posted on my profile and on the first chapter of this story! Thank you! **

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><p><strong>This is just a sort of footnote about I came up with about the epic final chapter of the 'Battle of the Dorm's arc! <strong>

**The Creation of ****_Dawn of Darkness_****: **I already had the sort of battle I wanted planned out. I had the previous two battles draw so that the final battle could be epic. The only problem I had was giving Unmei's character meaning. I didn't want the final antagonist of the arc simply being a mindless puppet doing the evil deeds of someone else. No, that wasn't good enough for me. I needed to give meaning to Unmei. I had already given meaning to Morgan and Regina. Morgan was the boy who throughout his whole life had relied on his friends. Now possessed, Morgan became bent on improving himself and casting of the chains of his previous self. That was why Morgan and Carlos' battle had so much tension and meaning to it. Regina was a little tricky, but I came up with the idea that she would want to become the 'best'. Therefore she'd be bent on defeating everyone to prove herself worthy. This is why I loved writing 'Atalanta's Assault,' because I was taking Regina, a blader who was intent on being the best, and pitting her against Kiara, a blader who was essentially the best in a way. Unmei stumped me however. I couldn't think of anything for her character. So, I went to bed angry. However, I had a dream about a strange woman named, you guessed it, Diana and how her ambition was to gain the ultimate power. I woke extremely excited and did my best to remember the dream. So I applied 'Diana' to Unmei. Why not give her a menacing ancestor hell bent on sacrificing everyone to amass ultimate power and also give her a vendetta against the Crimson Hero, which in turn applies to his reincarnation, Max Smith. Thus, Dawn of Darkness is born.

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><p><strong>Now it's time for the chapter! Remember to <span>PRETTY PLEASE <span>****REVIEW**** once your done and I hope you all enjoy this! We also begin a new…subplot that will continue on for a while…And n**o, I didn't intend for this chapter to be over 10,000 words long. Oh well! More action then! ****

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><p><strong>Chapter 36: Chaotic Order <strong>

Lord Zygor stood at the window, glass of wine in hand. He raised it and said, "A toast to Max Smith and his magnificent victory against Unmei."

Instead of drinking the wine however, he growled and threw the glass to the ground where it broke with a crash. He stepped over the broken pieces of glass and walked to his desk where he used the white king piece to knock over another of his black pawns.

"I'll give you credit Max Smith," stated Zygor to himself. "You're not an easy one to defeat. But, in the end, you'll burn like the rest of them. The Purge has truly begun."

Zygor chuckled lightly before bursting into insane laughter.

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><p>Max was in bed. Resting peacefully knowing that all of the possessed bladers had been freed from darkness. But then doubt flooded his mind.<p>

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><p><em>"<em>_Something evil is coming," she warned with an evil tone. "And this time no one will stop it. This time, we burn. This time, we suffer and die." She paused for a moment and then smiled. "And this time? This time the hero is the one who destroys the world."_

Max screamed in his sleep as flashes of blood, people dying, buildings exploded and collapsing flashed before him in his sleep.

That was when he emerged from the rubble, clothes torn and ripped. His skin bruised and brunt. He looked out to see the destroyed world.

He fell to his knees in horror and screamed in anguish. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

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><p>Max final woke up when he fell from his bed with a crash. He cursed under his breath as he stood up and peered at his alarm clock. It was 9:00; he was supposed to have gotten up half an hour ago!<p>

"Oh no!" Max panicked. "Classes start in five minutes! And I haven't showered or eaten yet!"

The Prince of Fire dashed to his closet where he flung the door open and immediately pulled out his shirt, jacket and jeans. He quickly pulled his jeans and t-shirt on and dashed out of the room while he was putting his jacket on. He slammed the door shut but reopened it and went back in to reclaim Swordsman.

"I could never forget you buddy," Max smiled at his bey before slipping it into his belt and dashing out of the room.

He ran into the food court where he snatched a piece of bacon off a plate that had been left out. He smelt it briefly before stuffing it down his throat. He subsequently grabbed a half filled glass of orange juice and glugged it down.

"Breakfast done," Max stated to himself as he bolted down a hall. He smelt his under arms and nearly barfed. "Oh man I stink. But there's no time for a shower." He looked around and noticed up ahead that a girl was spraying herself with perfume. The Flame Swordsman blader smirked.

"Mind if I borrow some? Thanks," Max said quickly as he knocked the bottle from the girls hands and it smashed onto the ground, creating a cloud of perfume. He stopped to stand in it and let the smell stick.

He saluted to the girl and then ran towards class. He slowed down as he neared the room and tiptoed to the closed door. He peered in through the window and saw the class had already begun. Mr. Heckler was standing at the board, writing some mathematical equations up. He was a tall thin man wearing a dark red suit with a black button up shirt. He wore red gloves and had short black hair that was graying at the sides. He had red eyes and wore glasses.

Max sighed. 'Okay,' he thought. 'I just have to open the door quietly and slip in.'

He slowly began to edge the door open when…

_Creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek._

Everyone's eyes turned to Max, whose right eye twitched in frustration.

'Are there any doors in this school that have been oiled recently?' Max thought in annoyance.

Heckler turned to face Max and crossed his arms. "Mr. Smith, how nice of you to join us."

Max simply groaned in defeat.

"Just because you're the winner of the Tournament and may be skilled in beyblade does not give you the excuse to arrive late to class," Heckler scorned.

"I'm sorry Mr. Heckler," Max apologized as he lowered his head. "It won't happen again."

"It better not Mr. Smith," replied Heckler as he smelt the air. "Is that perfume I smell?"

The class giggled as the words left Heckler's mouth.

"No," lied Max.

"You can sit down now," Heckler said coldly as he walked back to the front of the class while Max sat down at a desk next to Blaze.

The red head leaned over and whispered, "Very stealthy," in a mocking tone.

Max turned to death stare her, but she didn't care and chuckled to herself.

Simon, who was sitting behind Max scribbled something down on a piece of paper and tapped the Prince of Fire on the shoulder. He turned and took the piece of paper Simon who holding out to him. Max slowly read what was written on it.

_Everyone who got attacked by the possessed students are getting worse in their conditions. The black dots are spreading and Ninel was attacked by the same person who attacked Terry. _

Max's eyes widened in shock and he didn't realize Mr. Heckler had been talking to him.

"Mr. Smith!" snapped Heckler. "Is there something written on that paper more important then what I've been asking you?"

Max looked up at his teacher and gulped. "No…."

"Then answer the question I just asked you!" Heckler demanded as he crossed his arms.

Max gulped and leaned to the side slightly to glimpse the board. There were at least ten equations written up, it was impossible to tell which one Heckler had asked him. The Flame Swordsman blader gave up and simply said, "One?"

"Not good enough!" Heckler commented as he shook his head. "I asked you what 10+10 was! Clearly you need to practice your mind more than your battling skills! Detention!"

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><p>Max groaned and dropped his head down onto his desk. He was stuck in detention until 3:00 PM, where Mr. Heckler would finally let Max out. But the fire blader's mind wasn't on schoolwork; it was about his strange dream and the news that Ninel had been attacked. He wanted to go and make sure she was okay; to see what condition she was in. Terry had been placed in critical condition when he was attacked, so Max was scared that Ninel might be in a similar situation.<p>

Max sighed. "Mr. Heckler?" he asked, gaining the math teachers attention. He looked up from his desk at the front of the room to Max.

"What now Mr. Smith?" Heckler answered, slightly irritated. "I have tests to mark."

"Do you think there's a chance you could let me off early?" Max asked in his sweetest voice. "One of my friends got attacked and I don't know what condition they're in."

"No," Heckler replied bluntly.

"Why not?" Max protested.

"Because you're in detention," barked Heckler.

Max eyed the blue bey connected to his teacher's belt.

"How about we settle this with a bey battle?" suggested Max. "If I win you let me off. At an academy of beyblade, shouldn't things be decided with a bey battle? Or are you scared I might beat you?"

Heckler adjusted his glasses and smirked. "Alright, say I do accept. What will happen if I win?"

"Uh…?"

"How about you have the detention for the rest of the week and you'll help me sort mathematic books?" suggested Heckler. "Deal."

Max sighed but was confident a teacher like Heckler would be an amateur blader. "Deal, bring it on!"

Heckler stood up and gestured to a door to his office. "Come, we'll battle in my arena."

Max shrugged. "Sure." He walked over to the front of the room and entered the office. He was shocked when he saw the bey arena. It was shaped like a normal arena, but had metal poles and slopes of different levels all above and around it.

"What is this?" asked Max, still startle by the arena's bizarre appearance.

Heckler smirked as he took his place at a side of the arena and stretched his fingers.

"I call this the Mathematical Angle Arena," explained Heckler. "I designed it myself."

"What are the poles and slopes for?" questioned Max.

"You'll see in due time," Heckler chuckled as he took out his black ripcord launcher.

'Get ready Mr. Smith,' thought Heckler. 'I know the ins and outs of this arena, and the strategy to it. You on the other hand are a fish out of water. This will be a walk over, even if you are the tournament champion.'

'I don't care what arena he has,' Max thought as he took out his launcher. 'There's no way I'm going to lose to someone like him!'

"Bring it on Mr. Heckler!" declared Max as readied Swordsman. Kenny had repaired it after his intense battle with Unmei. The bey looked as good as knew. "Me and my buddy are going to burn you away!"

"Just try and outsmart my Star Magician!" retorted Heckler as he took out his bey and attached it to his launcher. It had a silver fusion wheel with ridges all around it and a light blue energy ring. Its spin track was silver, and it also had a blue quake performance tip.

"Three!" cried Max.

"Two!" added Heckler.

"One!" they both finished.

"Let It Rip!"

Swordsman and Magician jumped from their launchers and landed in the arena. They remained where they were for a moment, almost if they were studying each other. That was until Max decided to make the first move.

"I'll end this fast!" Max cried as he pointed at the opposing bey. "Run right through them Swordsman!"

The red and yellow bey responded by charging towards the blue and silver bey.

Heckler smirked. "Rush Magician!" and his bey shot towards Swordsman.

Max laughed. "You think you can take me on in a head on battle?"

Heckler shrugged and thought, 'No, I don't. But I don't plan on attacking like this. Max Smith, you have no idea what you've gotten yourself into.'

As the two beys got closer Max declared, "Special Move! Flame Sword Slash!"

The Red Knight emerged from its bey and drew its fiery blade, which it held up for Heckler to see.

"This bad boy packs a punch!" Max commented confidently. "One slash has the necessary power to take out a bey! Show them Swordsman!"

As the Red Knight charged forward along with its corresponding bey, he held his blade so that it pointed towards the ground in preparation to slash and flip Magician.

Heckler adjusted his glasses and cried, "Show them the power of the stars Magician!"

Some blue energy rose from Magician and began to meld and change to form a humanoid shape. Soon, it grew a long white beard and a pointy hat with yellow stars on it. A dark blue cloak grew from the figure and it also produced a magic staff. It was none other than, a Wizard.

"Bring it on!" Max challenged as the two beys and bey beast launched towards each other.

As Swordsman was about to smash into Magician and potentially seal the deal, Heckler interrupted with, "Now jump!"

Magician bounced up and flew over Swordsman and landed behind it. The Wizard itself then teleported away to behind the Red Knight.

Max rubbed his eyes to make sure he had actually just seen that maneuver.

"How did you do that?" he asked in disbelief.

"That is the power of the 'quake' performance tip," loafed Heckler. Because of its diagonal cut, it gives my bey the ability to bounce! You'd know that if you paid attention in your classes!"

"So what?" Max retorted. "You can dodge my attacks, but that doesn't mean you can beat me!"

Heckler grinned. "I beg to differ!"

"What?"

The mathematics teacher threw his hand into the air and declared, "Special Move! Magic Wave Bullet!"

"A special move!" panicked Max.

"Exactly!" snickered Heckler. "Now feel the power of the Sorcerer's supreme magical powers!"

The Wizard aimed the end of its staff at the Red Knight's back and it fired a blue energy bullet that smashed through the Knight and caused it to explode.

Max groaned and covered his face with his arms to block the recoil from the attack. "That sucks," he commented.

Heckler's eyes widened with pleasure. "That's not all Magic Wave Bullet does!"

"Huh?"

"Just watch!" smirked Heckler as his bey, now covered in blue aura bounced towards Swordsman and came down on top of it, sending sparks flying.

Max panicked. "Throw him off Swordsman!"

The fire bey began to run around widely, using its coat sharp performance tip to perform fast and chaotic movements. Eventually the move succeeded and Magician was thrown off.

'Time to begin Phase 2,' thought Heckler as his bey landed safely.

"Soar Magician!" he shouted as his bey began to bounce and leapt up onto one of the slopes above the arena and spun on the spot.

Max raised and eyebrow. "What was the point of that move?" he asked. "You can't beat me by running scared!"

Heckler laughed. "But I'm not running scared!"

"Then what are you doing?" Max questioned.

"I already told you how I know the ins and outs of this arena," Heckler explained as he adjusted his jacket. "In addition, I also know all the strategies and tactics that can be used in this place. In a way, I have mastered and conquered this arena. Right now, your bey is a siting duck against mine!"

Max was dumbfounded. "Oh no, you're going too…"

"I see you've figured it out!" interrupted Heckler as he spread his arms out. "My bey can now snipe at you from above!"

Max gulped.

"Weave your magic again Magician!" exclaimed Heckler. "Special Move! Magic Wave Bullet!"

The Blue Wizard bursts from its bey and aimed it staff like a shotgun at the basically defenseless Swordsman.

"Don't shoot!" protested Max but it was too late and a blue energy bullet burst from the orb at the end of the Wizards staff and shot downwards.

"Run Swordsman!" Max panicked as his bey managed to spin away from the bullet while it smashed into the arena and created a small crater.

Heckler snorted, "You won't get away that easily! Again Magician! Magic Wave Bullet!"

Another energy bullet shot towards Swordsman but the bey managed to maneuver around it.

Max smirked cockily. "Looks like my bey is too fast for you to hit! What's your plan B now?"

Heckler grinned in response. "Max, I'm disappointed. You don't give me enough credit. You should, because you didn't think about the possibility Magician could perform a rapid fire attack with Magic Wave Bullet!"

Max eyes widened with horror. "Oh shit!"

"Cast your spell my Magician!" laughed Heckler as the Wizard began to rapidly fire waves of energy bullets towards Swordsman.

"Run!" Max declared as his bey began to sprint away and swerve and maneuver in order to dodge the bullets.

"It's inevitable Max!" observed Heckler. "Your bey is bound to get hit by one of those bullets sooner or later!"

Max wiped the sweat from his forehead and thought, 'As much as I hate to admit it, he's right. I can't run forever, I'm completely at the mercy of his Magician.'

Heckler folded his arms as he watched the battle play out. 'Come on Max,' he thought. 'Show me your power. Surely you can find a way out of something like this.'

'Think Max, think!' the Prince of Fire thought. 'I don't have much time!'

That was when a bullet finally hit Swordsman, and it spun out of control.

"Bull's-eye!" mussed Heckler hysterically as another bullet hit Swordsman and dished out more damage.

"Oh no!" Max groaned.

"Oh yes!" laughed Heckler as Swordsman began to get bombarded by the waves of oncoming wave bullets. As each one hit, Swordsman was losing more energy and spin and was also losing more balance.

'I need to counterattack!' Max thought. 'But I can't go up there the way I am right now! I need to be able to counterattack from down here in a long-range strike! Long range, that's it!'

"Let's heat this up Swordsman!" declared Max as the bey stood its ground.

"What's this?" questioned Heckler, although he didn't sound too fazed by this move.

"A counterattack!" explained Max. "After a crisis, there's always the chance for an opportunity!"

"And that opportunity is?"

"Special Move!" exclaimed Max. "Flame Spiral!"

The Red Knight emerged from its bey and aimed its blade at the Wizard. The flames around the sword began to swirl and it then shot forwards in a stream and smashed into the Wizard, shattering him and ended the storm of wave bullets.

Max fist pumped the air and began to dance. "Oh yea, who's the best! Who's the best! Me, that's right! It's me!"

Heckler laughed at Max's attempt to dance. "Ever here the old saying, it ain't over till it's over?"

Max stopped celebrating. "Huh?"

"Show them Magician!" declared Heckler as the bey emerged from the smoke and bounced back up onto one of the slopes.

"I thought I took it out!" Max protested in annoyance.

"Close but no cigar," mocked Heckler. "What's your move now!"

"I'll follow your example and take to the skies! Run Swordsman!" Max ordered as his bey began to run towards the edge of the arena.

"Are you going for suicide?" questioned Heckler.

"Far from it actually!" retorted Max. "Show them Swordsman!"

As the bey came to the edge of the arena, it shot up the side and propelled itself into the air. It then managed to land on the other side of the slope that Magician was balanced on.

"I call that move evening the playing field!" stated Max.

"Alright then," answered Heckler calmly. "Sprint Magician!"

The blue bey began to race away from Swordsman, but the red and yellow bey gave chase even without Max's command. As the slope came to a sharp turn, the blue and silver bey simply leapt over the corner and landed on the new slope before racing off.

"I may not be able to jump but that doesn't mean I can't catch you!" cried Max as his bey attempted to turn on the sharp angle, but his bey couldn't hold and it fell to the arena again.

"Say what!" Max growled.

"It appears your bey's performance tip is not akin to making turns as sharp as that!" taunted Heckler as his bey slowed down and began to spin on the spot again.

"Then I'll use another long range attack!" Max replied. "Go! Phoenix Fury!"

The Red Knight appeared once again and held its sword up. From the fiery blade emerged a Phoenix, which flew into the air and screeched.

"Now show your stuff Phoenix!" ordered Max as the Phoenix shot towards the Magician.

"I'm sorry," retorted Heckler. "I'm not really much of a bird fan. Magician! Magic Wave Bullet!"

The Wizard emerged and sent a blue energy bullet at the Phoenix before it could attack. The flaming bird cried out in pain as the bullet struck it in the chest and caused it to vanish.

Max's eyes were wide open in horror. 'How could he take down one of my strongest moves so easily!' he thought.

"What's the matter Max?" taunted Heckler. "Can the champion of the tournament not stand a little competition?"

Max growled in frustration. "I still got a few tricks up my sleeve!"

"Really?" Heckler adjusted his glasses before continuing. "Show me!"

"Special Move!" Max retorted. "Salamander Fury!"

This time, a serpent like fiery spirit burst from the Knight's blade and flew up into the air and roared.

Heckler grinned. "I'll just blow that fiery amphibian from the face if the planet the same way I clipped you're little birdies wings!"

"We will see about that!" answered Max. "Attack Salamander!"

The fiery serpent like being shot forward and roared at Magician.

"Counterattack with Magic Wave Bullet!" commanded Heckler as the Wizard shot an energy bullet at Salamander.

But the serpent managed to dodge out of the way with its sleek body and crashed through the Wizard, incinerating it.

"Not too shabby!" Max laughed. "The same trick doesn't work on me twice."

"It's been working on you for nearly the entire battle," replied Heckler, was unfazed by Salamander's strike.

Max grimaced as he tried to think of a comeback but couldn't. "Uh…shut up!"

Heckler just shook his head. "Now then," he stated as he placed his attention back on the battle. "Where was I, oh yes? Magician, power up!"

'Is he going for another special move?' thought Max. 'I better attack now!'

"Go Salamander!" he cried as the serpent flew towards Magician.

"Special Move!" grinned Heckler. "Magic Barrier!"

A blue energy orb appeared around Magician just as Salamander went in for an attack.

"Break through Salamander!" commanded Max as he threw his hand into the air. Heckler laughed in response, confusing the Prince of Fire.

"What's so funny?" he demanded.

Heckler managed to regain his composure. "The fact that you walked right into my trap!"

Max gasped as Salamander smashed into the barrier and shattered it. However, the serpent froze as blue electricity surged through it and caused it to explode.

"No!" the fire blader shouted.

"One touch is deadly!" warned Heckler. "Maybe I should have mentioned that earlier."

Max groaned. 'I'm going to lose at this stage,' thought Max. 'Just like Mr. Heckler said, he knows this arena to well. Hang on a minute, what if I was to change things up a little. That way I'd take Heckler by surprise and even everything up.' He examined the slopes and poles as a plan formed in his head.

"So what now Mr. Smith," taunted Heckler as he cracked his knuckles.

Max smirked in response. "Winning. Special Move Swordsman! Flame Sword Slash!"

The Red Knight emerged from his bey and drew his sword.

Heckler shook his head. "What good will that do?"

"A lot!" roared Max. "Show them Swordsman!"

The Red Knight began to dash around the arena and used its blade to slash at the poles and supports of the slopes.

Heckler gasped. "What are you doing?"

"Kicking your butt!" cheered Max as the entire slopes and poles construction fell apart.

"Run Magician!" Heckler cried as his bey leapt off the collapsing structure to the arena below safely.

"That's what I call even the playing field!" declared Max. "How the tables have turned!"

"Looks like it all ends now then," stated Heckler.

Max nodded. "Yep. Go! Fusion Move! Chimera Fury!"

The Prince of Fire threw his hand up as the Phoenix and Salamander appeared once again and fused together to form a flaming and extremely powerful Chimera.

"This is it!" roared Max as the Chimera and his bey shot forward.

"Not so fast!" interrupted Heckler. "Magic Wave Bullet!"

The Wizard emerged yet again and fired a blue energy bullet at the Chimera.

Max concentrated and his crest glowed briefly to give Chimera extra strength. Its snake tail shot out and battered the oncoming attack away, saving the Chimera.

'What!' thought Heckler. 'The beast used a secondary attack to cancel out my own!'

"Let's heat this up!" exclaimed Max as the Chimers flew into the Wizard, incinerating him before his bey smashed into Magician, sending it flying out of the arena with a crash. Heckler watched as his bey came to a stop at his feet and Max jumped up and down in joy.

"Oh yeah!" Max cheered as he recalled his bey. "I won! Looks like I can go now!"

Heckler nodded as he bent down to pick up his bey. "I lost," he said calmly. "You are free to go."

The mathematics teacher watched as Max left the room. He smirked sinisterly before walking to the corner of the room and pulling off a small black probe attached to the wall.

"Very good," Heckler mussed as he took the probe over to his desk and pulled a small slot out of it shaped like a USB. He plugged it into his laptop, and information on Swordsman popped up. Heckler sat down and tapped his fingers together. "This was a good first test Mr. Smith," he chuckled. "You will make a good pawn indeed."

_Beep, beep, beep. _

Heckler reached into his jacket and pulled out a black mobile phone. He flicked it open and placed it to his ear.

"Hello Mr. Fears," Heckler greeted. "I just got the data you were asking for." Heckler paused for a moment as 'Fears' talked. "Don't worry, as long as I'm in charge, Project G.E.N.E.S.I.S. will succeed. Max Smith is the core piece in the puzzle we've been searching for all these years. He will never see us coming."

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><p>Max knocked on the door and watched as Kiara pulled it open for him to enter. He looked around at the medical wing and saw the long line of bladers who had either been attacked or been possessed lying in bed with in their coma states. Unmei was the latest edition, having fallen into a coma after losing to Max.<p>

Simon, Blaze, Kenny and Sierra were here as well.

"How's Ninel?" asked Max as he walked to the furthest bed where Ninel lay. Sierra sat next to the bed watching over her dear friend.

"A teacher found her on the ground outside the Summer Dorm bathrooms," Sierra explained. "She's okay now. She only has a bump on her head and some memory loose. She can remember the figure attacking her but she can't remember who they are."

That was when Ninel stirred and she opened her eyes. "Max? Is that you?" she asked.

Max nodded. "It's me. You're going to be okay."

Ninel smiled. "I'm sorry I was no help. But I just can't remember the face of the person who attacked me."

"How did you get away with such minor injuries?" questioned Max.

"Alicorn protected me somehow," Ninel answered as she looked over to her bey on the bedside table. "I'm not sure how but it did."

'Could it have something to do with Princess Eninl,' thought Max.

That was when the lights went out in the room, and everything was in darkness.

"They're coming," whispered Ninel in fear.

"Who?" asked Kenny.

"The attacker."

Max felt a chill go done his spine when he heard a faint knock. It was too dark to see what had made the sound however.

"Keep on guard," warned Kiara when a fist smashed into her face, knocking her into Kenny and causing both to fall to the ground.

Before Simon or Blaze could react, they both received a kick to the torso that sent them stumbling back and crashing into he wall.

Max concentrated and attempted to light up his crest, but someone stabbed him in the chest with a knife first and he feel to his knees while coughing up blood.

Sierra blindly kicked but it was caught and she was thrown into the wall.

"Noooooooooooooooooooooo!" screamed Ninel before all become silent.

A few seconds later, the lights came back on, and every student who had been lying in a hospital bed was gone, including Ninel. The guards who had stood at Terry's room had been knocked out and the door had been bashed in. Terry was gone along with the others.

Max growled in anger as he slowly removed the knife from his stomach and used his powers to heal the wound.

The bladers stood up and examined the scene.

"What the heck is going on?" cursed Simon. "Where did the figure take them all?"

Max scratched his head and thought. "We need someone who can help us or sort of knows what's going on."

"Who would that be?" asked Sierra. "Does anyone really know what's going on?"

"We all sort of have a good idea," Blaze stated. "It's a long story."

"But who can help us?" Kenny said.

Max thought long and hard when a name popped into his head. "Professor Viper."

* * *

><p>The gang stood in front of the Viper's door. Kiara had just finished filling in Sierra on all the details.<p>

"So Viper is responsible for what happened to Unmei?" asked Sierra, making sure she heard about Max's visions during his battle with Unmei in tournament right.

"Yep," Kiara answered.

Max knocked on the door and shouted, "Hey Viper! We know you're in league with the chaos-crazed people! Come out now!"

There was no response but some movement could be heard within the small teacher's room.

"That's it!" Max commented. "I'm breaking it down!" He walked down the hall, turned, and then charged towards the door. However, he failed to break through and ended up lying on the ground.

"Great job genius," Blaze mocked while Kiara took out Solaria and launched it through the lock, breaking the door open.

Max stood up and brushed himself off before slowly pushing the door open and entering. He looked around, but Viper was nowhere to be seen.

"He must be here somewhere," stated Blaze as the rest entered and looked around.

Simon walked over to the bathroom and opened the door, but it was empty.

Everyone else checked under everything and in the closest, but Viper wasn't there.

"Where is he?" groaned Sierra.

That was when Max tripped on the rug and fell with a crash.

Blaze face palmed herself. "Idiot."

"Did any of you notice that when Max fell it made a hollow sound?" observed Kenny.

Max groaned as he stood up and pulled the rug away to reveal a hidden vault.

"It has a pad lock," noted Simon.

"Then we'll just have to break through it," replied Kiara as she set Solaria again. "Let It Rip!"

Solaria sprung forward but rebounded off the door, pealing away some paint to reveal titanium.

"I don't think our beys are going to get through there," commented Kenny.

"Maybe you can use your powers Max?" suggested Simon.

Max nodded. "I'll try." He stood over the titanium door and held his hands out. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and concentrated hard. His crest glowed and he was soon surrounded by red aura.

The gang waited patiently when the room began to shake. A vase on a table fell and smashed. Books fell from the shelves. Plates and cups rattled. Suddenly, the titanium door was ripped apart and smashed into the ceiling before falling onto the couch.

Max fell to his knees in a weakened state. "I did it."

Inside the vault, surrounded by mysterious artifacts, was Viper.

"You!" snapped Sierra as she grabbed the professor by his collar and yanked him out. "Where are the students that attacker took?" she demanded.

"Wait…I…" stuttered Viper before Sierra lost her temper and threw him into the bookshelf. He crumbled to the ground before Blaze grabbed him by the throat and pushed him up against the shelf.

"Who's the figure that attacked Terry and Ninel and where are the kids he kidnapped?" threatened the red head.

"I don't know," spluttered Viper who was trying to breathe. "I'm not possessed anymore."

"Possessed?" Max's eyes widened in shock. "Let him go Blaze," he said.

"What?" The Phoenix blader protested.

"Let him go," Max said again.

Blaze growled before letting Viper's neck go free, and he gasped for breath.

"Talk," Max stated. "What's going on?"

"I was kidnapped before Zygor and his minions began their plan," explained Viper. "I lost in a battle against Hermes and I was placed under control. I then worked under employment here so I could scope out possible candidates for his experiments and to be his pawns. However, I slowly was able to break off my possession because of how long I'd been exposed for. Their hold on me secretly weakened and I was eventually able to defeat my 'dark' half in a mental confrontation and regain control of myself. I hid in the vault because I thought Zygor had figured out I had broken free."

"What about the attacker?" questioned Max.

Viper shrugged. "I had been free for the past three days. I don't know who did it or where they've taken the kids they kidnapped. I'm sorry but I can't help you."

Max sighed in annoyance.

"Looks like this was a dead end idea," Simon cursed.

"Maybe I _can_ help," Viper piped up as he stood up. "Max, you can use your order powers to track the figure if you have something of theirs."

Max reached into his pocket and pulled out the knife the attacker had stabbed them with.

"Would this be of any use?" he asked as he examined the knife.

Viper nodded. "Perfect, now Max, all you need to do is concentrate on the knife. But don't concentrate to the point you'll break something like you did the vault door. Think calmly."

Max breathed in and out while he held the knife with both hands. He closed his eyes and relaxed his body. He thought of the knife and tried to think hard, yet calmly. The gang watched as his crest lit up with red energy and surrounded the knife with red aura.

In Max's mind, a large cave flashed before him.

He opened his eyes and said, "I saw a cave."

Kiara raised an eyebrow. "A cave?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yeah," Max responded. "A really big one too."

Viper thought for a moment before clicking his fingers. "I think I know where it is, I'll give you a map." He turned to walk away but Simon grabbed his jacket to stop him.

"Wouldn't it be easier if you just showed us the cave," suggested Simon.

"If I get caught helping you I'm dead meat," replied Viper as he pulled himself out of Simon's grip.

"But we may need your help for something else," Max protested. "Besides, we'll protect you."

Viper lowered his head in defeat. "Alright, follow me."

He exited his room and gestured for everyone to follow him.

* * *

><p>The gang came to the edge of the forest, which was out of school bounds. A large wire fence surrounded the grounds to keep students in and most likely wild animals out.<p>

Viper reached into his pocket and presented a key. He walked over to a lock and inserted the key, turned it, and unlocked the door. He pushed it open and the gang entered.

"The cave that I'm thinking of is right behind the school grounds," explained Viper as he led them through the thick forest but stayed close to the fence.

"Is that a hole in the fence?" asked Sierra as she noted a giant hole in the fence. However, the hole was covered up from the inside by a bush. She walked over it and could see that it had appeared to have been slice open. "Wonder what did it?"

"Probably the attacker," replied Kiara.

Sierra stepped away from the hole and went after the others as they came to a giant cave, just like the one Max had seen.

"Bingo," the Prince of Fire said.

"What do we do now?" asked Kenny.

"Come in," said a voice from the cave. "Or else you'll never see those kids I took again."

"We've got no choice," Blaze stated and the gang entered the darkness of the cave. Suddenly, torches on either side of a cavern lit up, revealing a large beyblade like arena. On the other side stood the figure, cloaked in shadows.

"So you've come," they stated.

"Let the kids go!" Max cried. "This is between you and us!"

"But it isn't," the figure retorted. "This is the Purge!"

"Purge?"

"Soon the souls of this entire school will be sucked up for Nemesis' Heir! They will be drunk up, every last drop!"

"You sick bastard!" snapped Simon.

The figure clicked their fingers and a shadow tendril appeared and grabbed him by his stomach and pinned him to the wall.

"Simon!" cried Kenny.

"Now where was I?" snickered the figure. "Oh yes, the sacrifices. You see, Nemesis Heir is weak right now, so he needs me to collect those souls for him."

"That's what you did to Terry," Max observed. "That's why he had that chaos crest mark on his chest.

The figure clapped. "Very good Max, and to think I always thought you were an idiot."

"Enough of this!" erupted Blaze as she stepped forward. "Are we going to battle or what? And where are the kids you took?"

"Right here!" laughed the figure as their side of the cavern wall lit up, revealing the students, unconscious, chained to the wall. However, the students who had gotten attacked by the possessed bladers were nowhere to be seen.

"They're not all there!" snapped Kiara. "What are you trying to pull?"

"Nothing," grinned the figure. "My master still has use for those kids besides taking their souls. But I'd love to take all of yours and then theirs," the figure spat as they gestured to the trapped kids behind them.

"So who do you want to battle?" asked Sierra. "Because I want a piece out of you!"

"No!" interrupted the figure as more shadow tendrils shot out and pinned the gang to the wall, all except for Max.

"I want to fight you Max Smith!" declared the figure. "Because you're the big apple! The jackpot! If I beat you and steal your souls and powers, we'll let's just say it chances of beating me will be 1000 to 1."

Max gritted his teeth. "Fine! Bring it on!" he declared as he took out his launcher and prepared Swordsman.

Don't think you'll win easily Max," warned the figure.

"Why?"

"What happens when you discover truths are lies?" the figure asked. "What happens when you discover good is bad." They smirked sinisterly. "You get Chaotic Order! Prepare to for an early grave!"

"Not today!" Max retorted.

"Kick their but Max!" encouraged Sierra.

"Pound them into the ground!" added Blaze.

"Yes save us!" finished Viper. "I don't want to die like this!"

"Get ready to feel the heat!" challenged Max.

"Oh you truly overestimate your chances," the figure snorted as they stepped out of the shadows to reveal themselves.

Everyone's eyes widened in shock as they examined the figure, a girl. She had cherry red hair and blue eyes. She had a slim build and was about 5"6. She wore a purple headband, golden hoop earrings, and a heart shaped necklace that once said love but had been scribbled out to say death. She also wore a pink midriff top underneath a red sleeveless mini jacket and blue denim shorts. In addition, her skin was covered in black dots.

Max was the first to speak but his voice was spluttered. "What…it…can't…be...it…was…you...Frieda?"

Frieda laughed. "Long time no see all of you," she spat coldly. "It's been a while hasn't it."

"But that doesn't make sense!" protested Kiara. "You were in a coma! How could you have done all this without anyone noticing?"

Frieda grinned. "The blackouts were one of my powers. I used it to keep my cover. In addition, no one would suspect me if I was in a coma."

Max frowned. "So are we going to battle or what?"

"If you insist," snickered Frieda a she pulled out Ray Virgo, coloured pink, lavender and gold. "But let me introduce my new bey."

"New bey?" questioned Max.

Frieda concentrated and her bey began to change. The pink colours turned a blood red, the lavender turned into a dark blue, and the gold turned into a dirty bronze colour. In addition, the fusion wheel changed so that it was spikier.

"What the heck?" gasped Max.

"Dread Scythe Virgo," loafed Frieda. "Meet Max. And Max, meet your doom!"

"I'm not afraid of you!" retorted Max.

"You should be!" replied Frieda as she set her new darker schemed Virgo in her launcher.

"Three!" declared Max.

"Two!" added the gang watching while they were pinned to the wall.

"One!" finished Frieda.

"Let It Rip!"

Swordsman and Virgo landed in the arena and spun around, keeping some distance between themselves.

'I've seen Frieda battle,' thought Max. 'But because she's using her new 'Dread Scythe' bey, I have no idea what powers it has and what it can do. I better start cautious and wait for her to make the first move.'

Frieda eyed Max and seemed to be able to tell what he was thinking. "Being careful now aren't we?" she hissed. "Looks like Virgo and I will have to steal the show then."

"Just try it!" Max shot back confidently.

Frieda grinned devilishly. "Oh it will be my pleasure!" She held her arm up and declared, "Reap the life of Swordsman Virgo!" Her left eye bulged gruesomely as her bey shot towards its opponent.

"Don't think it's that easy to beat Swordsman in a head on match!" Max smirked. "Swordsman's energy ring is designed for attacking and his special edition 'Flame' fusion wheel has more of an attack motif. Not to mention its performance tip is good for fast movement!"

Frieda cracked her knuckles in response. "Don't get too cocky Max! The battle's only just beginning!"

"We'll see!" answered Max.

"I'm sure we will!" loafed Frieda as her bey's spin track shifted, causing the bey to drop down a bit.

"What?" Max said.

"Did I forget to mention that my new powers also allow me to give my bey new abilities!" laughed Frieda. "Such as a spin track change!"

"I care because!" retorted Max.

"Because this!" hissed Frieda as Virgo slid under Swordsman and then shot up, flipping Swordsman up into the air.

"Now Virgo!" spat Frieda. "Special Move! Dread Scythe Uppercut!"

Virgo leapt into the air and uppercut Swordsman, sending it flying into the top of the cavern with a crash. Max felt his back ache with pain and he fell to his knees.

'Not another battle where we feel our beys pain,' he thought in annoyance.

"Now reap the life of the Knight!" Frieda hissed as a skeleton woman wearing a grey goddess dress and wielding a scythe appeared and flew up towards the ceiling, as the Red Knight appeared to confront her.

The gang cringed as the Zombie let out a ghostly howl.

"When did her bey beast become a zombie princess?" asked Sierra.

"I guess that's what happens when you get dark powers," replied Blaze.

"Cut 'em down Swordsman!" declared Max as his bey began to drop towards Virgo. "Flame Sword Slash!"

The Red Knight charged downwards towards the Zombie while he drew his flaming sword and prepared for battle.

"You can try and beat Virgo!" warned Frieda wickedly. "But that doesn't mean you can!"

Max ignored her. "Let's heat this up Swordsman!"

The Knight's sword smashed into the blade of the Zombie's scythe. The two clashing powers caused a mini explosion that forced Max and Frieda back. Both raised their arms to block the recoil from the attack.

"Again Swordsman!" ordered Max as the Red Knight brought its blade back for another strike.

"Dread Scythe Uppercut!" commanded Frieda as the Zombie brought their scythe back for another attack as well.

"GO!" both bladers exclaimed as their bey beasts attacked, this time the impact shattered both spirits and their two beys fell to the arena.

Frieda laughed. "That was fun. Now I guess I'll get serious."

Max gasped. "You weren't serious before?"

Frieda shakes her head. "You don't give me enough credit Max! Too bad! Your confidence will be your downfall! Show them Virgo!"

The dark bey shot forward as it prepared to clash with Swordsman again.

'She's probably going to dodge underneath Swordsman again and flip it up,' Max thought. 'That means I need to prepare for that certain move.'

"Slash them apart Virgo!" squawked Frieda as her bey dropped down due to its special spin track.

'Now!' thought Max.

"Flame Sword Slash!" he cried as the Red Knight burst from its bey and used the tip of his sword to flip Virgo into the air.

"Alright!" cheered Kenny. "He dodged the attack!"

"Finish them off Swordsman!" roared Max as the Knight leapt into the air and slashed the defenseless bey, sending it smashing into the arena with a crash.

"Go Max!" encouraged Simon.

Max fist pumped the air. "Looks like this is in the bag!"

"I highly doubt that," snorted Frieda as her bey recovered from the attack. "I think it's time we kick this battle up a notch!"

She closed her eyes and focused as the black dots on her body began to multiply and soon, her skin became pitch black.

Max gulped. 'Unmei did a similar thing herself,' he thought. 'I just hope she isn't as power crazed as her.'

"Special Move Virgo!" declared Frieda as she threw her hand into the air. "Dread Cry!"

The Zombie emerged from Virgo and let out a high-pitched shriek that forced Swordsman back. Max covered his ears as the sound leaked into his brain and weakened him.

'I can't block the noise out!' Max thought as his head surged with pain.

"What's happening?" asked Sierra. "Can't Max take a little screaming?"

"I don't think that is what's happening," answered Viper from his position on the wall. "We're higher up then Max, so the frequency must be different. Up here it sounds like an ordinary scream, but to Max its like a someone screaming into a microphone that's up full volume."

"Not good then," added Simon.

Max shook his head as he tried to block the noise out and fell to his knees as he weakened. Soon, there was blood leaking from his ears.

'Not…good,' he thought. 'I…can't…concentrate…'

"That's right Max Smith!" taunted Frieda. "Fall down and bow to me! Because I am the superior one! Soon I'll take your soul and take your powers for myself!"

Max growled until he snapped from all the shrieking and roared, "Flame Burst!"

Frieda was caught off guard and could only watch as Swordsman burst into flames and unleashed a wave of flames in every direction, that attack incinerating the Zombie and sending Virgo spinning out of control.

Max sighed as the noise ended and stood up again to face Frieda.

"Looks like someone can't stand the heat," he mocked.

"You will pay dearly for that one Max Smith!" hissed Frieda in anger. "Virgo!"

The blood red bey shot towards Swordsman at full speed.

"Let me guess," Max mused. "You're going to use that spin track trick to make your bey go under mine! Do you seriously think that will work after I countered it before?"

Frieda smirked sinisterly. "Yes I do actually! Except this tricks a little…different!"

"Huh?"

"Now Virgo!" exclaimed Frieda. "Spin Track Change!"

There was a click from the dark blue spin track but instead of going down, it shot up, making it much taller then Swordsman.

"That doesn't scare me!" Max stated, ignoring Frieda's move. "Run right through them Swordsman!"

The red and yellow bey smashed into Virgo, but was only able to attack the spin track and was therefore, unable to inflict any real damage.

"What now Max?" spat Frieda.

Max threw his hand up and cried, "Special Move! Phoenix Fury!"

The red Knight emerged once again and brandished his blade. The Phoenix composed of flames burst from the blade and flew up into the air.

"How predictable!" hissed Frieda. "Virgo! Dread Scythe Uppercut!"

The Zombie woman burst from her bey and death starred the Phoenix as she prepared her scythe for battle.

"Incinerate them Phoenix!" commanded Max as the flaming bird dived down to face the Zombie.

"Show them who is the superior one!" ordered Frieda as the Zombie soared upwards to battle the Phoenix.

The Zombie swung her scythe in an attempt to quickly defeat the bird, but it was faster and dodged to the side and flew down below the Zombie.

"Now!" cried Max as the Phoenix shot forward and slashed the Zombie with its wing, causing the undead woman to howl in pain.

"Counterattack!" spat Frieda as the Zombie managed to recover and sent its scythe ramming through the Phoenix's head.

Max screamed in pain as a slash mark appeared across his forehead and his Phoenix shattered.

"Not so tough are you Smith!" mocked Frieda crazily as her right eye bulged.

"I'm not finished yet!" snapped Max as he managed to use his crest to heal his head wound. "Special Move! Salamander Fury!"

The Red Knight appeared on the field once again and held up its flaming sword from which a flaming Salamander burst from it.

"Good thing I have a backup plan!" declared Max as the Salamander flew into the air and faced the Zombie.

"Virgo will make quick work of your serpent just as she did to your little birdy!" loafed Frieda as she cracked her neck.

"Not today!" retorted Max. "Burn them away to nothing but ash Salamander!"

The flaming serpent hissed at its foe before the Zombie retaliated by slashing with her scythe. However, the Salamander managed to dodge the attack and shifted away from its opponent.

"You're a chicken I see," Frieda snorted.

"It may look that way!" Max answered. "But this is my attack strategy! I'm going to cook your zombie! Would you prefer extra crispy or original recipe!"

"I'll settle for dead Salamander!" retorted Frieda as her Zombie charged towards Salamander.

"Hit them now!" ordered Max as the Salamander opened its mouth and began to breathe fire onto the Zombie, which moved back to avoid the flames.

"Sweet!" cheered Simon.

"But Max needs to find a way to win," added Sierra.

"Now finish them off Salamander!" roared Max as the serpent flew into the Zombie, setting it ablaze and incinerating it while the undead woman screamed in pain.

Frieda herself fell to her knees as she felt the flames that her bey beast was feeling.

'I have her on the ropes,' thought Max. 'Now's the time to push forward and finish her off.'

"Swordsman!" exclaimed Max as the Red Knight appeared and prepared for battle. "Flame Sword Slash!"

The Knight charged forward and slashed Virgo with his sword, sending the opposing bey spinning out of control.

"Now end this Swordsman and knock them high!" continued Max as the Knight used its blade to flip Virgo up into the air.

"Go! Flame Spiral!" exclaimed Max as his bey beast aimed its sword at the bey and a spiraling stream of fire shot from it and smashed the dark bey into the cavern ceiling.

Frieda cried out in pain as multiply bruises and cuts appeared on her body.

"It appears I'll have to show you the true power of Virgo to defeat you," hissed Frieda as she recovered from the previous attack.

"Bring it on!" challenged Max.

"Oh I'll bring it alright," stated Frieda grimly as her bey landed back in the arena and moved back towards its master. "And I'll bring Chaos!"

Max's eyes widened in horror as a blood red chaos crest appeared on the wall behind his foe and then released energy that forced itself into Frieda's body.

"Get ready Max!" laughed Frieda as her eyes turned a blood red colour. She held her arms out and red energy balls appeared in her hands. "You're about to see why chaos is more superior then order!"

Max groaned as the energy balls in Frieda's hands got larger.

"This isn't developing well," commented Blaze on the wall.

"Max has survived powerful moves before," responded Kenny. "I'm sure he can do this. I think…"

"Ready Max?" exclaimed Frieda. "Chaos Move!"

"Chaos…" gasped Max in shock and horror.

"Virgo!" continued Frieda as she threw the energy balls at her bey. "Infinite Reap!"

Dread Scythe Virgo exploded with dark red energy that surrounded the arena and began to slash at Swordsman.

"Run away Swordsman!" commanded Max as his bey attempted to dodge the energy.

"It's useless to resist!" Frieda laughed manically as dark red tentacles emerged from the shadows and took hold of Max's arms and legs. The Prince of Fire was trapped!

"Get me out of these things!" he protested as he struggled but the tentacles only got tighter the more he squirmed.

"Now reap the life of Swordsman Virgo!" ordered Frieda as the Zombie appeared once again but multiplied into numerous copies that surrounded the arena.

Max cursed, "Oh shit."

"Now I shall steal your soul and reap the life of your pathetic bey!" spat Frieda malevolently as the army of Zombie's sprung towards Swordsman.

"Don't count me out yet!" roared Max as his crest glowed and the tentacles restraining him shattered. He held his hand up and declared, "Fusion Move! Chimera Fury!"

The Phoenix and the Salamander appeared once again and fused together to form the powerful and almighty Flaming Chimera.

"You can't defeat them all even with a fusion move!" taunted Frieda. "You've lost!"

"I can try!" exclaimed Max as the Chimera began to fly through the Zombie's. Each time it did, the Zombie would explode into flames. However, soon the Chimera was overpowered and overwhelmed by the large amount of Zombies, which began to swarm it.

"This doesn't look good," gulped Viper nervously.

"The end is here Max!" mocked Frieda. "Soon the Chimera will be dead, along with you!"

'Now's the time to unlock some powers,' thought Max as he concentrated hard.

His crest began to glow and he cried, "O' will of Order hear the chant I recite! Come; bring me power and victory in this fight! In blackest day, in brightest night! Shining power of Order unleash your might!"

Red aura surrounded Max and he threw his hand into the air and declared, "Ultimate Move! Raging Fire Blast!"

The Chimera roared before exploding into flames, which spread like a bomb and incinerated all of the Zombie's in an instant.

Frieda screamed in horror and pain as she felt all the burning the entire Zombie army faced. She feel to her knees as her skin was scorched and brunt.

"This is it!" cried Max as the Red Knight burst from its bey and entered the arena of flames. "Flame Sword Slash!"

The Knight held it's sword up and all of the flames in the arena where sucked into it, powering it up.

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" exclaimed Max as the Knight rushed forward and smashed its blazing blade into Virgo, the attack splitting it in half and dispelling the darkness over it, transforming it back into Ray Virgo, but now in one piece. The bey flew trough the air and crashed landed in front of Frieda, the impact throwing her into the wall and shattering the chaos symbol.

"Alright Max!" cheered Kenny as the tendrils holding him and gang to the wall vanished, freeing them.

Max sighed with relief as he recalled his bey.

Frieda, greatly injured, managed to look up at Max as her skin went back to normal as did her eyes.

"Thank…you…Max…" she coughed. "You…saved…me…" She then fell limp as an energy orb emerged from her chest and vanished.

* * *

><p>Heckler watched from outside the cave, hidden with a small camera. In his right hand was a razor knife that he had used to cut the opening in the fence to follow the attacker, wanting to know more about them. He had never expected Max to show up and reveal more of his hidden power.<p>

"This is developing even better then I thought," he said to himself wickedly.

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Continued: Next Time – Web of Deceit <strong>

**With Max's win over Frieda, she's freed from her chaos possession but at the cost of losing her soul. As the gang continues to investigate with the help of Professor Viper, students begin to go missing again with only strange spider webs as a clue. Soon, they discover another student has become chaos empowered and is intent on using the whole school as sacrifices to create a spider army for Nemesis Heir! And only Kiara and Solaria have the power to stop this mad plan! But if she loses, she'll be used as the main course…for a spider army! **

**What did you all think of the chapter! Yes, you got two battles from this! That's why is took a bit longer to update. What did you all think of Heckler, and yes, he's apart of this new subplot that's just beginning. But this is going to be very minor for the rest of the series. Yep, it's a sub plot that will have more form next season. So remember to PRETTY PLEASE ****REVIEW**** and think about these questions: **

**1) Who is Heckler really? **

**2) Who is Mr. Fears? **

**3) What do they want with Max? **

**4) What's happened to the students still missing?**

**5) And what is the mysterious Project G.E.N.E.S.I.S? **

**IMPORTANT NOTE: **Due to Internet problems that keep coming up, I probably won't be able to update as quick as I have been lately. Depends how soon my internet get's fixed. Sorry!


	37. Chapter 37: Web of Deceit

**Merry (Extremely Late) Christmas everyone! And also, HAPPY NEW YEAR! It's been about a fortnight hasn't it? Oh well, I guess that's what happens when you decide to get a chapter as good as you want to get it. I actually finished the chapter yesterday but decided to wait and post it in the New Year. A lot of rewriting went on for this chapter and I also had to update another story. My Internet is back to normal at least! Yay! Hope you all enjoyed your Christmas and I hope you all have a Happy New Year! Don't ask me how, but my chapters are now somehow going beyond 10,000 words. Strange? This is the longest chapter I've ever wrote. Hope it's not too long.**

* * *

><p><strong>Now for the review responses. <strong>

**The Midnight Sniper: **Thanks for thinking of the previous chapter as cool and yes, the Purge is supposed to be creepy. You suggested that Mr. Fears might have something to with Max's past right? That's a very interesting idea indeed. I'm not going to say your wrong or right and thanks for following this story!

**Alpha Dragonis: **Answers to your answers.

1) _"Who are you really Heckler?" demanded Max. _

_"__I am Relkceh!" retorted Heckler. _

_"__Relkceh?" _

_"__It's Heckler but backwards!" _

_"__Really?" _

_"__What's wrong with Relkceh?" _

_"__It's not scary. If you're going to have a bad guy name at least make it scary. I mean Relkceh doesn't strike fear into the opponent's heart. Your pathetic on so many levels." _

_"__Shut up!" retorted Heckler as he broke down into tears. _

_LOL. _

2) Mr. Fears is an interesting character but he isn't going to appear in person at all this season.

3) Interesting theory. But they don't want Max to use as a slave or to posses him.

4) You'll find out soon.

5) A few people guessed arrangement, it's a good guess but it's not right.

**Kawaiino Tenshi Kiki: **Happy to know you thought the last chapter was really interesting. Glad you were also surprised that Frieda was the one attacking students all along. I love plot twists! Yes, the Purge will have all sorts of strange anomalies attached to it and it doesn't matter if your answers were wrong, I just like seeing what people come up with.

Now your first answer was that Heckler is an antagonist, right but a very minor one for this season. For you second question you put Mr. Fears down as some kind of Joker, nice answer, but wrong. But that's okay! For question three you thought they'd put an end to Max's plans. I actually liked that idea but they have nothing to do with Nemesis' Heir and won't be interfering with the Purge. And for the last question you put that Project G.E.N.E.S.I.S. was some kind of arrangement like for HD academy. While you are wrong, HD academy may not have something to do with it. (Nudge, nudge, wink, wink).

**Turtleswift11: **Yes, some teachers are "here to suck your blood!" Yes, Frieda made the blackouts so she could do her dirty work and make sure know one would notice she was gone. The hospital wing goes pitch black when there's no power. Although Frieda was defeated, not everything will go back to normal. If you really do have arachnophobia you probably aren't going to like this chapter too much then. And no, Project G.E.N.E.S.I.S. does not stand for what you put. But nice try though, I'll give you that.

**MarsTwilight: **I guess the previous chapter was awesome! Yes, comparing Heckler to someone like Doji is a good comparison, a good comparison indeed. No, Mr. Fears isn't Nemesis Heir, he has nothing to do with the Purge or chaos and order. Nice try though. Another good guess what that they would drive Max to destroying the world like in Unmei's vision, but once again, they won't have anything to do with that certain plot thread. And you suggested that Project G.E.N.E.S.I.S. has something to do with what happened to Nemesis after he lost to Gingka right. Well, that is interesting indeed. You're not right, but you're not wrong. (Wink, wink). The students still missing are the ones who got attacked in the tournament by possessed bladers, minus Frieda. So we have six bladers missing still. The other ones taken by Frieda were all saved when Max beat her.

**Gingercookiessnaps: **Yes Mana will be back for Season 2: Dark Prophecy! There are 12 chapters left for this season including this one! Which means this story will have 48 chapters all up! There will be another five chapters for the 'Chaotic Order' arc and six chapters for the 'Dark Oath' arc. Happy to know you thought the chapter was amazing and it's good to know you'll be reviewing more!

**AlchemistWarriorDiamondDust: **Things are getting intense and I'm glad you're excited! Yeah, Professor Viper is one of the teachers. He appeared ages ago in the chapter 'Darkness on the Move' but otherwise has only made cameo appearances up until now. It's not actually a reference to GX though. When I created the character, I wanted a name that suited him and his bey Serpent. But I couldn't think of anything. When the chapter came out, the character was named (working name) Professor Drake. Eventually, I decided to name the character Viper. I probably subconsciously got it from GX though. However, the characters are different. GX Viper only became "a bad guy" because Yubel manipulated him and was desperate to get his adopted son back. However, up until Viper was freed from his possession, he was wicked, evil and sadistic. He had no morals. But I did get some inspiration from GX to write this series.

**Indestructible Black Rose: **Firstly, nice new name. And secondly, yep, I made Frieda go evil. What better way to keep things interesting then by taking an innocent victim and turning them into a psychopath. Yep, Kiara and Solaria will be taking on a spider army this chapter, but it won't be as easy as it looks.

* * *

><p><strong>It's time for the chapter, and sorry this came later then the other chapters have been coming in. I finished the chapter but didn't like the way I'd written the end, the battle or the climax, so I scrapped it and rewrote all of the second half of this. Then I read over it again and decided I did a bad job by rushing to rewrite it. So I scrapped it again and took the whole second week to finish it. So as you can see, it took me some time to repair the damage and get it the way I wanted. <strong>

**I'm also getting closer to putting up the website for this story and although Kawaiino Tenshi Kiki is drawing Max for me, I will put up "my original" concept art of Max. (Don't bag it out because it's really bad, I suck at drawing people). Now for the second chapter in the thrilling "Chaotic Order" arc and the "Purge" saga! ****MAKE SURE TO REVIEW WHEN YOU'RE DONE! **

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><p><strong>Chapter 37: Web of Deceit <strong>

"Mr. Smith!" snapped Ms. Lillie in fury as she stood over the Prince of Fire's desk. The blader had his head rested on some books. His eyes were closed and drool leaked from his open mouth. Ms. Lillie smashed her fist down on the desk again, but Max was unresponsive.

The biology teacher sighed in annoyance as she scowled at Max and held three fingers up. "Mr. Smith, I'm giving you to the count of three to wake up and pay attention to me!"

All eyes in the room turned to Max, but the blader simply snored.

"One!"

Nothing.

"Two!"

Squat.

"Three!"

The fire blader turned his head over and began to snore again.

"Three, two, one wake up!" erupted Ms. Lillie.

That was when Max leapt out of his seat and landed on top of his desk. He was still snoring and his eyes were closed. Still asleep, the blader subconsciously pulled out his launcher and attached his bey.

"It appears the countdown subconsciously reacted to Max and has placed him in a sleep walking beyblading state," Kenny commented as he examined Max.

"I want him to wake up!" snarled Lillie. "Not sleep walk! Wake up Max! You here me! WAKE UP!"

"Let It Rip!" stuttered Max as his ripped his launcher and his bey launched into the whiteboard, ricocheting off and smashing into the ceiling. It continued to bounce off objects, sending the class into a frenzy.

Half of the class was screaming and running around the room while the other half had taken shelter under their desks.

"What happened?" asked Blaze in annoyance from under her desk to the rest of Team Nova Flare, who were also hidden under their desks.

Kenny adjusted his glasses. "It appears when Ms. Lillie yelled at him, it triggered an instinctive move to launch his bey."

"Things can't get any worse at least," added Kiara. "But then again, this is Max we're taking about."

"Flame Sword Slash!" cried Max in his sleep as his bey lit itself on fire as it continued to bounce around the room. Now it was setting things on fire and the Red Knight emerged and began slashing randomly at things. The class was thrown into complete chaos now.

Simon shot the Queen of Order a deadly glare. "Thanks for jinxing us," he complained.

Kiara shrugged. "I didn't mean it."

"Well now he's setting the room on fire," added Blaze.

"Let's just knock his bey out then," suggested Kiara as she took out Solaria and attached it to her launcher.

Simon nodded. "Good idea," he said as he pulled out Gryphos.

"Let's do this then," declared Blaze as she and the gang stood up and aimed their beys.

"Let It Rip!"

Gryphos, Solaria and Phoenix shot from their beys and soared towards Swordsman.

"Burst Blast!" ordered Simon.

"Firestorm Fury!" added Kiara.

"Immortal Flame!" commanded Blaze.

"Counterattack Swordsman!" roared Max as his bey beast swung its sword and smashed into the oncoming beys before they had a chance to land or attack. They were sent crashing through the empty turtle tank in the corner of the room and came to a stop.

"It also appears you attacking warned Max's subconscious of a threat," Kenny stated, who was still hidden under a desk.

By this time the fire was spreading, and starting to engulf the room.

"Enough!" erupted Mana Valkov as she stood up behind Max and readied her launcher and bey, Ice Fox.

"Let It Rip!"

Ice Fox shot from Mana's launcher and soared towards the Red Knight.

Max, still asleep, smirked. "Hit them Swordsman! Flame Sword Slash!"

The Red Knight turned and swung its blade, but Fox dove to the side and bounced off the wall before smashing through the Knight and shattering him.

"Now let's get rid of that pesky bey Fox!" ordered Mana as her bey launched itself into the air.

The black bey went flying and ricocheted off a wall and smashed into Swordsman, sending both beys smashing through a window and landing outside.

"Now Fox!" ordered Mana as a jet black fox leapt onto the windowsill from outside and let out a cool blast of ice that put out all of the fires in five seconds flat.

The class clamed down and Mana sighed as she recalled her bey and it sped up through the window and landed in her hand.

"Tackle him!" shouted Simon as he, Kiara and Blaze lunged at Max and tackled him to the ground just as Swordsman burst back into the room. But Sierra was ready.

"Let It Rip!"

Thunder Angel rocketed from its respective launcher and smashed into Swordsman head on, the impact was enough to knock the bey out and end its rampage.

"Wake up Max!" snapped Blaze as she smashed her fist into the back of the fire blader's head.

"Ow!" Max whined as his eyes burst open and he clutched his head in pain. "I swear Mum, I didn't put a ferret into your bed! I swear to God! Don't take away Flame Swordsman please!"

The Prince of Fire had woken up but appeared to be a half a sleep still and was bawling his eyes out.

"Snap out of it!" erupted Kiara as she picked Max up by the collar and slapped him across the face.

Max immediately stopped crying and then shook his head about for a few seconds. He then casually stated, "What's for lunch?"

"Idiot!" Kiara cursed as she pushed Max to the ground.

"What did I do?" the Swordsman blader protested. "And why does my head hurt?"

"The head hurting was courtesy of Blaze," Simon explained as he helped Max up. "And while you were sleep blading you kind of ruined the room."

He gestured to the ruined room as Max examined it.

"I did all this in my sleep?" Max stated in disbelief. "But I've never sleep walked or done anything like this before."

"Look Max," commented Kenny as he sat himself down at his desk and pointed at Max's hand. "Your crest."

Team Nova Flare all laid their eyes on Max's hand, which had his order crest glowing brightly.

"Is it possible your crest somehow activated in your sleep and made you do all that crazy stuff?" suggested Kiara.

Max shrugged. "It would appear so."

"Here's your bey Max," Sierra interrupted as she held out Flame Swordsman to Max. She herself had only just picked up her Thunder Angel.

"Thanks," Max replied as he took back his bey.

Kenny turned to face Mana, who sitting up at the back of the class all casually as if nothing had happened.

"Thanks for helping out," he said.

Mana nodded but didn't say anything otherwise.

Ms. Lillie stood up and did her best to fix her singed hair up. She was a fairly large lady with long red hair and green eyes. She wore a purple and orange dress and had pale skin.

"Well that was a disaster," she groaned and set her deadly gaze upon Max. She placed her hands on her hips. "And what do you have to say for yourself Mr. Smith?"

"Uh…get to bed earlier…?"

Ms. Lillie growled and shook and angry fist at the Prince of Fire, who coiled back in fear. The biology teacher then checked her watch and sighed.

"It appears that will be all for class," she said. "However, you will be starting your biology project in pairs today for homework."

She walked over to what remained of her smashed desk and picked up a clipboard and flipped through the pages attached to it.

"Listen carefully now," announced Ms. Lillie as she began to read names out. After about a minute, she came to the last two names. "And the final pair will be Mana Valkov and Max Smith. Class dismissed."

It didn't really matter because the bell went about ten seconds later. Mana however, wasn't happy. She knew Max was a strong blader and all, but a school worker? No. Max had yet to pass a single exam and was on thin ice right now with most of his teachers. Actually, thin ice wasn't the right word for it. On extremely thin ice was a better word to describe it.

Max turned in his seat to face Mana, smiled and gave her a thumbs up. The Fox blader simply groaned and dropped her head down onto her desk.

* * *

><p>"How are you feeling today?" asked Sierra as she, along with Team Nova Flare entered the hospital wing and walked towards Ninel.<p>

Ninel was sitting up in bed, reading a book. She placed her book down as the gang entered and replied with, "Better. I should be back at school tomorrow."

"Good," Max commented before turning his attention to the kids he had rescued last night from the clutches of the chaos possessed Frieda.

"Still worried about the kids still missing huh?" Simon said as he stood next to Max with his arms crossed.

The Prince of Fire nodded. "Yeah," he said quietly. "Makes my insides burn with anger. I mean these chaos nuts are ruining everything. But right now there's nothing we can do."

"I'm sure something will happen again soon that will shed some more light on things," Kiara piped up. "It's been doing it by itself so far."

"But have you noticed the enemies we are facing seem to just be getting stronger," Blaze noted. "I mean, Morgan, Regina and Unmei were **really **powerful and Frieda was able to evolve her bey into Dread Scythe Virgo. I mean, we're battling on a whole different level here."

Kenny agreed as he typed on his laptop. "Our beys have been taking some pretty heavy hits lately. Some almost catastrophic. I don't know how long our streak of luck will last."

Max sighed and looked at his teammates. "True," he stated. "It's been rough. We've been pushed to our limits. But we can't afford to lose. This isn't a game anymore. We're talking about an evil that matches that to Nemesis. And if we fail, everyone at this academy is going to bite the dust first. All those kids that came here to beyblade and dreamt of becoming a pro. There's no way I'm going to let Nemesis' Heir and this 'Zygor' whoever he is to mess with us and win. That means we need to bring our A game if he want to win."

Kiara sighed. "I guess it's just a matter of seeing where this takes us next and hope we can push through."

* * *

><p>The group of boys tiptoed their way through the assembly area and towards the teachers building. There were five of them, each wearing a full black ninja outfit to hide their identities. Each troublemaker was also armed with a different coloured paint can.<p>

"This is going to be so cool," one of them laughed before the boy tiptoeing behind him slapped him over the head.

"Be quiet you baboon," the slapping boy warned in a whisper. "We don't want any teachers catching us."

"Fine…"

The group edged their way towards the teachers building, sticking to the shadows and moving along the walls.

The boy at the back stopped when he noticed some rustling coming from a large bush near by. He eyed the bush carefully and tapped the boy in front of him on the shoulder.

"Did you see that?"

"See what?"

"There's something in the bush…"

"You're an idiot."

"I'm not messing around man…there's something in that bush…"

"Quit being a wimp."

"I'm not a wimp dude. I'm trying to warn you that there's something in that bush watching us…"

"Toughen up Princess or I'll-"

He didn't get to finish; a thin web line shot from the bush, caught him in the stomach, and pulled him into the bush all within a second.

The boy he was just talking too froze in fear, his eyes wide - staring at the bush without blinking. His legs trembled in panic and he whimpered quietly.

"Guys…"

But the group had already slinked away behind some trees a few meters away, leaving the boy all alone. Unprotected. Vulnerable. And unguarded to the dark creature that waited patiently for the right time to catch its prey.

"Guys…"

A large hairy shape emerged from the bushes and grew to a large size. The boy screamed silently as a large web shot from the creature's mouth and trapped him in a cocoon of silk.

The large arachnid immediately disappeared into the shadows, taking the boy stuck in the cocoon with it.

The group of boys was yet to notice what had happened. It took them a few seconds to realize that two of them were missing.

"Were there not more of us?" one of them asked nervously.

"I think so."

"Then what happened?"

That was when they heard a huge screech and froze in fear. They slowly turned around to see a giant arachnid looming over them. It pincers were wide open and its large body shadowed them.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Within a second, they were all trapped in one giant silk cocoon, and soon their screams became muffles, and soon fell silent. The giant spider let out another roar before melting away into the shadows.

Only one boy remained now. He had moved ahead of the group much earlier to keep watch for teachers. He held his small walkie-talkie to his mouth and said into it, "Frozen Berry, this is Black Badger. The coast is clear. Repeat, the coast is clear. Move in. Rodger."

He turned the talkie off and waited for a reply or for the boys to come to his position. But the yard was still and the boys were nowhere to be seen.

The boy frowned and talked into his talkie again. "Guys. What's going on? Where are you all?"

He waited for a reply, but there was nothing. That was when a chilling breeze came through the yard and the boy's skin became layered with goose bumps. He shivered also as a chill went down his spine. He could feel something was wrong.

_"__Over here." _

The boy jumped. "Who said that?"

_"__Me." _

"Who are you?" the boy gulped.

_"__I'll tell you if you come down here." _

"Down here?" The boy swallowed nervously as the breeze came up again and directed him into a dark alley between the teachers building and the gym. He began to move in even though he wasn't sure if he should.

"Where are you?" he questioned.

_"__I'm here." _

A shadowy figure emerged at the other end of the alleyway. Their body and face was covered in shadows, masking their identity. Their voice was also mysteriously distorted, making it impossible to tell whether the figure was male of female.

"Do you know what happened to my friends?" asked the boy.

The figure grinned. _"Oh do I." _

"What happened to them?" pleaded the boy.

_"__They stepped into a spider's web and became tangled. Then the spider came, and took them." _

The boy gave a puzzled look to the figure. "What are you talking about?"

The figure pointed up. _"I'm talking about that." _

The boy looked up and cried out in horror as he saw a large huntsman spider sticking to the higher parts of the alley walls. It opened its mouth and a large web line smashed into the boy and ensnared his entire body except for his head in a silk cocoon. The spider crept down and took hold of the cocoon with two of its eight legs.

"Help! Help! Help!" screamed the boy in horror.

The figure stepped out of the shadows, revealing their identity by exposing themselves to the moonlight, and walked up to the boy.

The boy's eyes widened in shock. "Wait? What? If can't be you! This is impossible!"

_"__Nothing is impossible." _

The figure placed their hand on the boy's mouth and then removed it, leaving a web over the lips to stop the boy from screaming.

_"__Enjoy the rest of your night. Now you can scream as loud as you want." _

The boy's tried, but it came out all muffled from underneath the web. That was when the huntsman crawled away and vanished into the shadows, taking he boy with it.

The figure grinned up at the moon.

_"__Soon, Master Zygor. Your army will be here and the souls needed for the Dark Lord's resurrection will be delivered to you on a silver platter." _

* * *

><p>Max navigated his way through the halls of the Winter dormitory. He was searching for Mana's room so they could start their biology project.<p>

The Prince of Fire came to a door, sighed, stopped at it and adjusted his jacket.

"Is this Mana Valkov's room?" asked Max as he knocked at the door.

"No!" shouted a voice from in the room.

It had been the exact same thing for the last twenty minutes. Blaze had given him Mana's room number, but it wasn't right. It was another of the Phoenix's Bladers pranks and Max had walked right into it. He could almost hear her laughing right now.

"I'm going to get you Blaze,' Max thought in annoyance as he came to another room. He sighed as he knocked on the door. Before he could ask if it was Mana's room however, her voice rang out.

"About time. Where have you been?"

"I got pranked," groaned Max, his shoulders slumped.

"Alright you can come in, it's open."

Max took hold of the knob on the door and turned it. He lightly pushed the door open and peeked inside. The room wasn't very lit and could be compared to walking into a darker side of a Winter Wonderland. The walls were painted a midnight blue colour with white snowflakes. A brown dresser stood in a corner with a picture on top. There was also a special stand where Ice Fox lay. There was also a desk with a lamp on it. Mana herself was sitting in dark blue pajamas on a bed with a midnight blue bedspread. She was busy typing on her laptop.

"You going to come in or not?" piped up Mana without looking away from her laptop.

"I'm going," stated Max as he pushed the door open fully and entered the room. He closed the door behind him before walking to the desk and sitting in the swivel chair. He spun around in it like a little kid.

Mana looked up at Max and glared at him. "How old are you?" she questioned.

Max opened his mouth. "I'm…"

"Don't answer that," Mana interrupted before the Prince of Fire finished. "It was a rhetorical question." She thought for a moment before saying, "You do know what a rhetorical question is right?"

"Uh…" Max stuttered. "I know this!" he cried as he wracked his brain. "It's the uh…it's the thingy…that…I have nothing…"

Mana lowered her head and sighed in annoyance. "Perfect, I have Super-Idiot as my partner in a biology project."

"Super-Idiot?" questioned Max, who had not been fully listening to Mana and was spinning on the chair again. "Is he a superhero you made up? I mean, how would a 'Super-Idiot' catch bad guys if he's an idiot? Or does his idiotic powers make others idiotic or does his clumsy nature always make him save the day by accident?"

Mana's eye twitched in annoyance. "I meant you're a Super-Idiot!" she snapped.

Max stopped spinning and frowned at the Ice Fox user. "How am I the idiot?" he asked in confusion.

Mana gritted her teeth in frustration and growled. "You're that much of an idiot that you don't realize you're an idiot."

"That was a bit harsh," replied Max. "You wouldn't like it if I called you an idiot for no apparent reason."

Mana face palmed herself and under her breath grumbled, "Idiot."

Max folded his arms and starred at Mana. "Did you just call me an idiot under your breath?" he demanded.

Mana shook her head and responded innocently, "Of course not." She then coughed, "Idiot," immediately afterwards.

Max glared at the Ice Fox user. "You just did it again!" he said.

Mana raised an eyebrow and played dumb. "Did what?"

"You said that I was an idiot," Max answered.

"No I didn't," denied Mana. "You must have misheard me you idiot."

Max fumed and jumped off the chair and dabbed a finger at Mana. "You just did it then again!" he cried. "You called me an idiot!"

Man glared at Max. "What are you talking about Max? I never said such a thing. I think you should get your facts right you idiot."

"Wow," Max said as he calmed down. "You are something aren't you? You're a real piece of work you know that?"

"Keep telling yourself that you idiot," Mana shot back as she continued typing.

"You can talk all you want," Max smirked. "But you can't deny that I bet you at beyblade. You can't deny that I'm the better blader. And you can't deny that your Ice Fox is inferior to my Flame Swordsman."

Mana shot Max as a deadly glare and closed her laptop. She got up off the bed and walked over to the stand that had her bey on it. She picked it up and attached it to her launcher.

"It appears a rematch is at a call," challenged Mana.

Max grinned and rolled up his sleeves. "A rematch huh? Sweet, I could go for one. Don't get your hopes up though. Me and my buddy Swordsman are like playing tennis against a brick wall. You can hit it as hard and as many times as you want, but we'll always just return the favor harder and faster then you did."

"Ice Fox and I will make your blood run cold and send Swordsman bellow zero!" retorted Mana.

"Not if Swordsman obliterates you first!" Max declared as he took out hi fiery bey. "And cooks your Fox for lunch!"

Before some more trash talk could be exchanged, the window in the room shattered and a giant hairy leg came through and smashed into Max, knocking him into the door with a crash. His bey slipped from his grip and fell to the ground. Mana was faster then the Prince of Fire and leapt to the corner to avoid the incoming attack.

"Let It Rip!"

Ice Fox zoomed from its launcher and collided with the giant spider leg, sending blood spurting and also causing the creature outside to screech in pain. But the attack for Fox wasn't enough to stop the spider, and it flung its leg upwards, smashing Fox into the ceiling.

"A little help here Max!" called out Mana as the leg attempted to jab her. She managed to dodge to the side but knew it was only a matter of time until it got her. "Today would be nice!"

Max grumbled as he rubbed his back and looked around for his bey. "Just a second," he responded. That was when he saw it, lying on the ground near Mana's desk.

The fire blader ran forward but the spider leg flung to the side, smashing Max into the wall with a crash.

"Fox!" shouted Mana. "Ice Meteor!"

The black bey dropped down from the ceiling and stabbed the spider leg with its performance tip, now covered in ice. A large amount of blood splashed out of the wound and a high-pitched screech sounded from outside. That was when a web line shot into the room, catching Fox and pinning it to the wall.

"Fox!" cried Mana as she ran to her bey, only for the leg to smash her over the head and knock her to the ground.

Max growled in anger as he leapt to the desk and grabbed Swordsman. "Eureka!" he cheered in triumph. That was when the spider leg came down on the desk, smashing into pieces. The Prince of Fire managed to scramble away in time, only for a piece of the ceiling to fall of and clip him on the shoulder, knocking him to the ground.

"Look out Max!" warned Mana as she managed to stand up, but she was too late and the huntsman leg caught Max with its special sticky hairs and lifted him up.

"Oh shit!" Max cursed.

"Do something already!" shouted Mana.

"Like what?" asked Max in response as the huntsman smashed his head into the ceiling but held onto him. He cried out from the impact but didn't get knocked out.

"Launch your bey!" suggested Mana.

Max snatched his launcher from his belt and connected his bey. He aimed it for the head of the spider outside and cried, "Let It Rip!"

The red bey shot forward and smashed into the eyes of the huntsman, causing it to recoil back and drop Max with a scream. The fire blader fell to the ground with a thump but quickly recovered.

"Now go Swordsman!" ordered Max. "Flame Burst!"

The fiery bey let loose a wave of fire onto the body of the huntsman, burning it and causing it to fling its seven other arms into the building, causing it to shake.

"Return Swordsman!" commanded Max as his bey leapt back into the room while the large spider outside began to burn.

"What the heck is going on?" asked Mana as she freed her bey and set it in her launcher again.

"I think we were just attacked by a giant spider if I'm not mistaken," Max responded.

"No shit Sherlock," retorted Mana. "What I'm asking is_ how _this is happening?"

That was when a thought struck Max. 'It must be Zygor,' he thought.

"It's coming back!" cried Mana as the huntsman attempted to knock the bladers to the ground with its leg, but they managed to duck the attack.

"Let It Rip!" roared Mana as Fox sprung from her launcher and smashed into the spider leg, knocking it back.

"Nice!" complimented Max.

"Wait till you see this! Fox!" exclaimed Mana as she threw her hand into the air. "Special Move! Snowstorm!"

A pure black fox with royal purple eyes burst from its bey and blew hard, unleashing a storm of snow that covered and froze the leg of the huntsman.

"Now Max!" signaled Mana.

Max saw his chance and went for it. "Go Swordsman! Special Move! Flame Sword Slash!"

The Red Knight emerged from its bey and drew its flaming sword. It then charged at the spider leg and slashed, severing it from the body of the spider. A flow of blood burst and leaked from the wound as the severed leg fell to the ground of the room.

"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH!" was the only sound that could be heard for twenty seconds. The huntsman went into a rampage and used its remaining legs to rip the roof off of the room and reveal itself to its foes.

"Let's tag team this bitch!" cried Max.

Mana nodded in reply. "Let me take the lead! Fox! Special Move! Dance of the Ice Fairy!"

Beautiful wings sprouted from Fox and Mana concentrated hard, soon parts of the giant spider began to freeze over via Fox's power.

"Now get them Fox!" commanded Mana as the black fox appeared once again. It leapt upon the head of the spider and vanished into it, forcefully freezing the entire spider solid.

"Cool," commented Max.

"He's all yours," said Mana as she recalled her bey and gestured to the frozen spider.

Max cracked his knuckles. "My pleasure!" he fist pumped the air and declared, "Swordsman! Special Move! Chimera Fury!"

The Red Knight held its sword up and the flaming Phoenix and Salamander burst from the bey and combined together to form the powerful and almighty Chimera.

"Sick 'em!" cheered Max with a smirk as he pointed at the spider. The Chimera replied with a roar and charged at the spider. It began to slash, blast and burn the spider. It also began to break off three frozen legs, and the spider began to scream extremely loud. So loud that the ice that covered it shattered and the beats fell back into the shadows, and melted away.

Max recalled his bey, sighed and stated, "That's something you don't see everyday."

* * *

><p>Team Nova Flare, Mana, Sierra and Professor Viper stood in what remained of the Ice Fox user's room. It had been messed up quite a bit. There was glass, plaster and wood everywhere. The carpet had been ripped up. The window wall and most of the ceiling had been broken off. And nearly all of the furniture had been destroyed in the battle. Mana, now back in her normal attire, sadly walked over to a picture of her parents, which had miraculously survived the assault and picked it up. She brushed it off and walked over to a bag near the door that contained all of her stuff that had survived. She carefully placed the picture in and zipped the bag up.<p>

"That's everything," she said as she tried to keep calm but angrily growled, "I can't believe a giant spider assaulted my room!"

"How did a giant spider come to be in the first place?" asked Sierra.

Viper, along with Kenny was studying the severed spider leg carefully. They were looking for something to prove the spider wasn't organic: Animatronics, robotics. But there was nothing to show this. The whole leg was completely organic, blood, bones and all.

Kenny was typing data in on his laptop while looking up info on spiders and arachnids.

"I just can't see how a spider could have grown to this size," Kenny stated in disbelief. "It just sounds impossible."

"Indeed," answered Viper. "But this is definitely the doing of chaos energies. I can feel the chaos energies escaping the dead leg. This was definitely done by Zygor or at least, someone with chaos powers."

Mana looked around to see if anyone else was confused by what Viper was saying. She frowned in confusion when no one did and crossed her arms. "What do you mean by _chaos_ energies?"

"We never told her did we," said Simon as the gang looked at each other awkwardly.

"What's going on?" demanded Mana as she looked around at everyone. "Someone now!" she snapped. "I want to know why my room and myself nearly was turned into demolition zone!"

Max rubbed the back of his head and laughed. "You see it's a long story and I wouldn't want to bore you-"

"Give me the short version then Max," growled Mana.

The Prince of Fire took a big deep breath before speaking extremely fast. "You see there are these crazy chaos people trying to awaken Nemesis' Heir with chaos powers and those kids in the tournament who started using dark moves were possessed and the kids they defeated were getting infected with some dark energies and so when a possessed blader lost they and anyone they defeated would fall into a coma and then Frieda came back as a chaos possessed maniac with a new dark bey and I had to defeat here and you see we're all like trying to stop them by using order energy which is something me and Kiara have because I'm the reincarnation of this legendary figure called the Crimson Hero and Kiara is the current blood line descendant to the original Goddess of Light and that makes her the current Queen or Order and the rest of us are deciding to help out and beat the bad guys although Viper was originally on the bad guys side but he was just being possessed as well and then defected over to us and now he likes help us out and is almost like our inside man and then the whole thing started when I battled Luke and my power first manifested and I got these fully sick special moves like Phoenix Fury and I won and then Artemis appeared already possessed in her first battle and by defeating Frieda she infected her with some kind of dark energies we guess and then Regina got possessed in her battle with Aiya and she won and infected Aiya and then she got Morgan high on dark energies and they won their tag team battle and of course then Unmei appeared and was already a whack job because she was being possessed by her ancestor Diana who wanted revenge on me because the Crimson Hero stopped her in her time and because she needed my energies to sacrifice everyone in the school in order to gain the "ultimate" power as she put it but of course I defeated her and vanquished Diana for all eternity and stuff and I also got this cool Order crest thingy when I battled two chaos henchmen named Hermes and Athena and they were like totally trouncing me but then I got these cool powers and I wiped the floor with them and Kiara also revealed her powers to us when I had a dream about the past concerning the original Queen of Order and the original Queen of Chaos who is also Jaden's ancestor and that's why she hates Kiara and all and so now we're trying to find some of the students who fell into comas you know the ones who got defeated because they then fell into comas when the one who defeated them lost and only Frieda came back but she was like chaos empowered and she had this bey called Dread Scythe Virgo and it was really creepy because she used have a pretty bey and now her bey was like a zombie bey and all but I defeated her but she fell into a coma again although we're not sure she was in a coma because she was the one making blackouts happen and was the one who attacked Terry and Ninel and so basically overall we need to stop these chaos people lead by some named Zygor and all and we've been doing that by beating the possessed bladers you know how Simon and Blaze drew with Morgan and Kiara drew with Regina and I beat Unmei and I also beat Artemis and in a battle outside of the tournament but I still freed her and so we've all been pooling our resources and powers together to stop Zygor and potentially save the world from being destroyed by Nemesis' Heir and all and we're the only ones who can do it right now and all and that spider was most likely coming after me and I was here and that's why it destroyed your room and now I really wish I didn't say that because you're probably going to murder me in which case please don't because I'm too young to die and have so much to live for and by letting you know about all of this we're trusting you to possibly help us out you know because there's no limit to our little resistance I guess you could call it and we need all the help we can get to stop this threat and save the academy and the world and if you promise not to kill me I'll let you kill the spider that demolished your room but back to the point will you help us and if you do that would be really appreciated and all and now I'm getting close to suffocating because I haven't taken a breath in the last few minutes that I've been speaking so I'm going to end on one of my favorite quotes from a movie known as the Trueman Show and it's "In case I don't see you, good morning, good afternoon and goodnight!"

The fire blader's face had gone purple by the time he was done and he fell to his knees while gasping for breath.

"You really need speaking lessons," was all Simon could say. "For one, you didn't stop or take a break and I'd hate to see that speech written down. Also, that wasn't what I'd call short."

Max looked up to Simon and stared at him. "I…did…the…best…I…could…"he puffed.

"Is he being serious?" asked Mana.

Blaze nodded. "Yep."

Mana sighed before turning to Max and bursting with, "SO IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU THAT I NO LONGER HAVE A ROOM!"

Max stepped back in fear. "I didn't mean it," he protested as he held his hands up ready to block some kind of attack.

Mana was fuming but managed to calm herself down. "You're lucky that I believe your story because of the giant spider and you're also lucky that I'd rather kill the spider then you."

Max sighed in relief.

"Is it possible another student like Frieda could have done this?" questioned Kiara as she turned to the Professor in the room.

Viper thought for a moment. "I suppose it is possible," he replied as he bent down and picked up a piece of a spider web.

"Mr. Jones and campus security will be here soon," Simon commented.

"I guess we better go," added Blaze.

"I think there's something else we should check out," explained Viper as he stood up and adjusted his jacket. "Some screams were heard outside the teachers room earlier this night but no one was found at the scene. The teachers suggested it was a prank, but perhaps…"

"It was another attack," finished Blaze.

* * *

><p>The gang now stood in the courtyard near the teachers building, searching for any clues that may lead them to deduce that these "giant spiders" have been about.<p>

"Has anyone found anything yet?" asked Max.

"No," replied Simon.

"No," replied Blaze.

"No," replied Kenny.

"No," replied Viper.

"No," replied Sierra.

"No," replied Mana.

"Yes," replied Kiara as she held up piece of a spider web, similar to the one Viper had found in Mana's room earlier.

"Bingo," commented Max.

"So those large spiders have been doing this for a while now then," added Blaze.

"What do we do now?" asked Sierra. "Can we track a giant spider with just its web?"

"I don't think so," answered Viper. "I guess we'll just have to wait for another attack and hope we can stop it and figure out what's going on."

That was when the ground shook, and a faint hiss was heard briefly.

"I think there's something out here with us," whispered Kenny in fear as the group froze.

"Nobody move," warned Viper quietly. "We mustn't alert it to our presence."

That was when a giant spider leg burst from the bushes and slammed down onto Viper, Kenny and Sierra, smacking them into the ground.

The bladers still standing drew their launchers, but before they could even reach for their beys, the spider shot web strands, creating a thick webbing around their hands with the launchers and stopping them from being able to set their beys.

"Nuts!" cursed Max as the spider launcher another attack with its giant leg. The bladers leapt out of the way but the spider took this chance to web up Simon and Blaze in a cocoon.

"Crud!" Simon stated as he squirmed in the cocoon.

"Fuck!" added Blaze.

"We have to do something!" cried Max.

"We can't use our beys though!" retorted Mana as she looked at the web that had trapped her hand.

The spider used one of its powerful legs to knock a tree over, and Max, Kiara and Mana ducked for cover.

The spider turned its attention away from them and back to Viper, Kenny and Sierra who had just recovered from being stomped on. It shot out a large web and trapped them in a cocoon.

"Perfect," groaned Viper as the spider picked up the large cocoon along with Simon and Blaze's and began to run away to the library building.

"It's running?" questioned Max.

"We have to follow it!" declared Kiara. "We have to save them!"

"I just want revenge for those things destroying my room!" added Mana as the three ran towards the library building. They watched as the spider made it to the top, before mysteriously vanishing into the shadows.

"Where'd it go?" asked Max in disbelief.

Kiara shrugged. "Not sure! But it must be at the top of the tower!" She pointed to the doors to the building and they ran towards them.

Max grabbed the handles, but they were locked. They tangled with the thick webs on their hands, but it was fruitless.

"Looks like we'll have to get in ourselves," commented Kiara.

"I'll knock it down," declared Max as he ran back before charging forward at full speed shouting "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

As Max neared the door, Mana stuck her foot out, tripping the Summer Dorm blader and he fell into the door with all of his weight, the impact being enough the bust the door open. Max fell down onto the ground immediately after the doors broke open.

He stood up, brushed himself off and growled at Mana.

"You did that on purpose," he stated.

"It helped you open the door didn't it," replied the Fox blader.

Max grumbled, "Fair enough," as they entered the library building. The entry had a marble floor and statues around the place. There were two doors on either side that led to different sections of the library while a third door straight ahead had a staircase leading to the top of the tower and to store rooms and offices.

"We can rip our webs on that sword statue," suggested Kiara as she pointed to a white state of a knight carrying a sword.

The bladers ran up to it and used the tip of the sword to slice off the webs on their hands and their launchers. They immediately took out their beys and attached them.

"We better be prepared for anything," warned Max as they began to walk up the staircase towards the top of the tower.

"What do you think the point of the giant spiders are?" asked Mana in curiosity.

Max shrugged. "Don't know, possibly one of Zygor's plans perhaps. Maybe he wants to use them as soldiers or something."

"But why are the spiders attacking and stealing people," Kiara questioned.

"If what Frieda said about the Purge was true then they're probably taking people to steal their souls," Max assumed quietly.

* * *

><p>After a few minutes, they came to the final flight of stairs and looked up at the door, which was covered in cobwebs.<p>

"Guess this is it," said Max as he took a step, that was when the building trembled and the Prince of Fire paused. "What was that?" he asked.

Kiara gulped. "I think that might have been a…"

CRASH!

That was when the roof of the where they stood was pulled off and a large spider stood in the night, roaring at them.

The three bladers aimed their launchers up and shouted, "Let It Rip!"

Swordsman, Solaria and Fox shot from their respective beys and up towards the spider. However, the large huntsman used one of its legs to batter the beys away and roared.

That was when Mana saw it, a large stump on the spider's body. It had only seven legs! It was the same spider that had attacked her room earlier.

"It's payback time!" roared Mana. "Crush it Fox!"

The black fox leapt out of its bey and lunged at the huntsman's head. But the arachnid was faster and it shot a web at the fox that shattered it. The web kept going and actually pinned Mana's bey to her abdomen.

"Shit!" she cursed as the spider then shot out another web that trapped her in a cocoon.

"I'll save us!" declared Max as he prepared for an attack, only for the spider to smash him down with its leg and then smash his bey into his groan. "Mother fucker," he squealed in pain.

Kiara ducked out of the way and up the stairs as the spider shot out another web that entangled Max in a cocoon of silk.

The spider proceeded to pick up Mana and Max's cocoons with its pincers and vanished into the night.

Kiara pointed to the cobweb-covered door and shouted, "Bust it open Solaria!"

The ruby bey shot forward and set it ablaze before bursting through the door. Kiara recalled her bey and ran up the steps and through the door.

That was when she saw it, a white bey arena stood in the center of the roof. At one end stood a dark figure and behind them was a large spider web which held Max, Mana, Simon, Blaze, Kenny, Sierra, Professor Viper and the boys who had been attempting to vandalize the teachers building. They were stuck to the web by their wrists and ankles. Attached to the other side of the web were two large spiders. One was the seven-legged huntsman, while the other was a funnel web.

_"__It is up to you to save them Kiara." _

"Who are you and why do you want with my friends?" demanded Kiara as she took her place at the arena opposite the shadowy figure.

_"__I plan to sacrifice their souls to the spider god Athena and amass a giant spider army. For every soul I take, I get a large spider to do my biding. Soon your friends will be taken. But you see you're the current Queen of Order. If I take your powers I can build a large spider army just by beating you!" _

"If you think I'll lose to someone like you then forget it!" roared Kiara as she attached Solaria to her launcher and aimed it at her opponent. "Me and Solaria will burn your spiders into ash!"

_"__You have confidence I'll give you that," _chuckled the figure as they stepped out of the shadows. _"But this is one battle you can't win." _

Everyone gasped as they examined the figure, which was now visible in the moonlight. She was female and had her dark brown hair sticking up in eight different points, giving it the look of a spider. She wore a long sleeve plain brown shirt, a long dark purple cloak with a hood and light brown pants. It was none other then Aiya.

"Aiya?" everyone stated in shock simultaneously.

Aiya grinned. "I have been chosen by my master to finish where Frieda failed. I will amass his army!"

"So you're just like Frieda," replied Kiara.

"Oh I'm better then Frieda!" laughed Aiya as the black dots on her skin covered her completely and her eyes went completely white. She then took out her bey, Poison Arachne and everyone watched as shadows coiled around it and evolved the bey with dark powers.

"So this must be your knew bey," Kiara commented.

"Oh yes," snored Aiya. "This is Venom Arachne!"

The dark bey had a purple energy ring with stripes, a silver 'Venom' fusion wheel with eight large spikes, and a black spin track and performance tip. In addition, the face bolt was also purple and pictured the purple outline of a spider.

"Arachne and I will poison you to death!" taunted Aiya crazily as she took out her launcher and attached her bey.

"Our lives are riding on you Kiara!" panicked Viper as he eyed the fangs of the funnel web spider above him.

"We have complete confidence in you!" cheered Max.

Kiara nodded and diverted her attention back to her opponent.

"Prepare to lose!" she challenged.

Aiya's eyes widened with pleasure. "Bring it on!"

"Three!" cried Kiara.

"Two!" added the captives watching.

"One!" finished Aiya.

"Let It Rip!"

Arachne and Solaria launcher into the clear white arena and spun around, keeping distance from each other.

'Okay,' thought Kiara. 'I'm not sure what kind of tricks Aiya will pull in this battle so I'll let her make the first move. If I can figure out her strategy then maybe I can win this quickly and free everyone.'

Aiya starred down Solaria and kept focused on it. She didn't show any signs of wanting to attack.

Kiara frowned. 'Is she going to move or anything?' she thought.

"Something wrong?" giggled Aiya as her right eye bulged. "Is there something bothering you?"

"I'm fine," retorted Kiara. "I'm just planning the battle out."

Aiya shook her head. "If you think you'll win that way then you've been horribly mistaken. It will take more then careful and precise planning to overcome me and Arachne." She folded her arms. "Maybe you should give up now and I'll make your end merciful."

"Never!" snapped Kiara.

"Circling around and around won't do anything," snickered Aiya.

"Fine!" growled Kiara. "If you won't move then I'll make you! Roar Solaria! Show them your power and ferocity!"

Solaria moved away from the edge and spun towards Arachne, which made no move to get out of the way. Solaria hit dead on, the impact being enough to send Arachne spinning away. Aiya didn't seem to care and was completely unfazed by the attack.

"That all huh?" spat Aiya in disgust.

Kiara death starred the Venus Dorm blader. "Again Solaria! Barrage Attack!"

Solaria launched itself forward and clashed with the opposing bey. It was ripping its powerful attacks into Arachne and was easily knocking it back and dishing out tones of damage.

"All right Kiara!" cheered Simon. "You're kicking her but!"

"Looks like you've gotten overconfident," sneered Kiara to Aiya who still didn't seem to care how much damage her bey had taken.

"I'm seeing what you can dish out," Aiya replied coldly. "But so far, I'm not impressed. You attack with power and strength, but I almost feel as if you're holding back. I'm insulted."

Kiara growled in rage and threw her hand out. "Solaria destroy them!" she roared in fury as the golden Lioness burst from her bey and charged at Arachne. It raised its paw and smashed it down, the slash sending Arachne flying into the air.

The Queen of Order pointed to the sky. "Meet them head on Solaria!"

The Lioness let out another fierce roar as it leapt into the air and uppercut Arachne with its paw.

"What do you have to say about that?" taunted Kiara as her foe's bey came crashing down into the arena, creating a small explosion.

Aiya looked at Kiara solemnly, her eyes narrowed and her mouth shut tight. She didn't reply straight away to Kiara and instead appeared to be studying her along with Solaria. "I see your bey holds hidden power. It has seen civilizations rise and fall. It is perhaps a worthy opponent. But you still aren't using your full power. My bey has yet to have taken any serious damage."

Arachne emerged from the dust, almost completely unharmed from the onslaught it had been forced through by Solaria.

Kiara gritted her teeth. 'Looks like I've got a battle on my hands,' she thought. 'But there's no way I can lose.' She looked to her team, trapped in the giant spider web behind Aiya. 'I can't afford to lose!'

"Solaria!" she declared. "Special Move! Firestorm Fury!"

Aiya grinned devilishly. 'She took the bait,' she thought.

"Blow them sky high!" Kiara ordered as her bey unleashed a wave of fire towards Arachne.

Aiya burst into laughter, stunning Kiara. "You really are a fool aren't you? Like a fly, you've flown straight into my web! Special Move! Venom Reversal!"

A pitch black spider burst from its bey and quickly weaved a web in front of it, the fire pushed forward, but the web was increasingly strong and could not be burnt through. That was when the fire was converted into a purple energy and was flung back at Solaria.

"Crap!" cursed Kiara as the redirected attack smashed into her bey and sent it spiraling out of control.

"Hah!" spat Aiya in triumph. "Looks like I got out without a scratch from that exchange! You on the other hand, took quite a bit of damage!"

Kiara shot her opponent a deadly stare. "Shut up!" she snapped.

Aiya chuckled grimly. "Losing your temper I see. It appears your ego is not the only thing that's burning."

A confused Kiara asked, "What do you mean something else is burning?'

Aiya pointed down at the arena. "Take a look."

Everyone's gaze adjusted to the arena, where they noticed a long strip of it, the same direction Firestorm Fury had just been on, had become incinerated.

Kiara's eyes widened in shock. "What the heck?"

Aiya giggled. "Did I forget to mention something? Oh, that's right. This arena is composed of silk. It's one large and well prepared cobweb."

"But that means…" commented Max quietly.

"I can't use any fire moves or risk collapsing the arena around Solaria and causing myself a stadium out," Kiara finished for him.

"Exactly!" hissed Aiya. "Fortunately for me, my bey is well adjusted to this arena and can take full advantage of it! You could say this is my home ground!"

'Shoot!' thought Kiara angrily. 'I can't use my strongest moves or risk making myself lose. But so far she hasn't even attacked properly, so I should still have a good chance of winning if she wants to make this simply a stamina battle.'

"Weave your web Arachne!" commanded Aiya, who finally seemed to be actually getting into the battle. "Attack Solaria!"

The dark bey zoomed forward and prepared to clash with the Queen Lioness.

"Nice try but that won't work!" retorted Kiara. "A head on assault is useless against me!"

Aiya's right eye bulged again. "Who said I was going for a head on strike?" she loafed.

"Huh?"

As Arachne neared Solaria, it dodged to the side and spun around the opposing bey before backing off.

"You've been caught in my web," declared Aiya evilly.

"What web?" demanded Kiara.

"The web my bey just secretly tangled you in!" retorted Aiya as Solaria attempted to move but found it couldn't.

"That's why her bey spun around Solaria," observed Kenny from the web. "It was just so she could pin Solaria down."

"Not good," commented Sierra next to the bey mechanic. "Now Solaria is completely wide open against attacks."

"Let the onslaught begin!" snorted Aiya as her bey rushed forward and smashed into the defenseless Solaria, which was forced to take the full blow from the attack.

"Gah…" Kiara cringed as she felt a slash mark burst across her chest and blood leaked from the wound. "Oh crap!"

"Arachne!" ordered Aiya crazily as her bey sped forward and spun around Solaria at high speeds. Kiara screamed as Solaria was bombarded by the bulky spikes that formed Arachne's fusion wheel.

From Kiara's waist all around leaked blood and she fell to her knees while coughing violently.

"It doesn't stop there!" cried Aiya. "I'm going to torture you to death!"

Kiara death starred her opponent. "Bring it you bitch!"

"Your wish is my command!" mocked the Arachne blader as she threw her arm out. "Special Move! Venom Snipe!"

"Did she snipe?" questioned Simon as he watched the battle upside down from the web.

"I think so," answered Blaze beside him. "Which means bad news for Kiara."

A large black spider emerged from Arachne once again and faced off against the Lioness who materialized into the arena as well for battle. However, its back legs were stuck to the ground by webs. It was still ready for battle however and let out a roar of challenge.

The Spider hissed in return and dashed forward and slammed the Lioness in the face with one of its legs. With the wild beast briefly distracted, it sank its fangs into the Lioness' neck, causing it to roar in pain.

Kiara herself coughed up a puddle of blood and clutched her neck in pain as she suffered through what felt like a vampire sinking its teeth into her.

"You know what they say," taunted Aiya. "No pain, no gain. And there's a lot more pain coming up! Time for the true sniping to begin!"

The Black Spider began to shriek and then multiplied all around the Lioness, which was now surrounded and outnumbered.

"Field of Venom!" exclaimed Aiya as she threw her arm into the air. "Kill the Lioness!"

From each Spider, came a spitball of green poison which all flew into the Lioness and exploded on impact, causing the golden lion to howl in pain.

Kiara herself coughed up some more blood as multiple wounds sprung up across her body. At the same time, she suddenly felt light headed.

'What…what's…happening…to…me…' she thought in a daze.

"Oh no!" panicked Viper. "Kiara is getting poisoned by all of those venom snipes! She's losing consciousness!"

"What a pity," spat Aiya. "I thought she'd last longer."

"Don't give up now Kiara!" shouted Max. "Everything's riding on you winning!"

'He's right,' the Queen of Order thought as her Crest of Order lit up and provided her with the energy needed to regain composure.

"Oh good," grinned Aiya. "It would have been boring if I'd won like that! But I'm afraid you'll still lose as Solaria is still stuck to the ground in my web!"

Kiara bunched up her fists. "I can take anything! And you better hope it'll work because if it doesn't, then me and Solaria will hunt you down!"

"Challenge accepted!" retorted Aiya. "Arachne! Special Move! Sonic Roar!"

The multiple spider copies surrounding Solaria all began to shriek, creating a wall of sonic screams.

"Not good," commented Mana as the Lioness gave a roar of suffering and shattered from the impact.

Kiara herself gritted her teeth and closed her eyes as the pain surged throughout her body.

'Just hold on and wait for my time to counterattack,' she thought as she tried to stay on her feet.

"Let's kick this into the next gear!" loafed Aiya. "Special Move! Venom Drive!"

The dozen fake copies of the Spider all lunged forward and smashed into Solaria, releasing a giant explosion of green energy that caused Kiara to fall to the ground in pain as she violently began to vomit blood.

"It appears only one more attack will be needed to crush you!" Aiya declared devilishly.

"Don't count me out yet," responded Kiara as she managed to stand despite the amount of blood she was losing. "It's time for my counterattack."

"Excuse me," growled Aiya whose eyes narrowed.

"Your big attack destroyed the webs holding down my bey," Kiara pointed out.

Aiya's eyes widened in shock. "So you've escaped," she noted.

Kiara nodded and wiped some of the blood from her mouth. "Pounce Solaria!"

The Golden Lioness leapt from the dust of the last attack from Arachne and landed on top of the real Spider. It began to claw and bite at its eight eyes, causing the arachnid to screech in pain.

"Throw her off Arachne!" commanded Aiya desperately and the spider grabbed the Lioness with one of its legs and threw the beast off. It landed safely and growled at the eight-legged creature.

"Special Move!" declared Kiara as she threw her hand up. "Queen Lioness Rising Sundance!"

The Lioness began to dash around the Spider at high speeds, creating a light that blinded the arachnid and Aiya.

"Attack now!" ordered Kiara as her bey beast leapt forward and sent a shattering slash to the Spider, creating a slash mark across Aiya's face.

She screamed in pain and growled furiously at her foe.

"Arachne! Venom Blast!" commanded Aiya as her bey beast opened its mouth and let out a green whip composed of venom energy. "Slaughter them all!"

The Spider moved quickly and whipped the Lioness directly in the back, causing Kiara to gasp in pain as a large wound appeared all down her back and leaked out a tone of blood.

"Solaria return the favor!" ordered Kiara as her beast ran forward and head-butted the Spider, the impact knocking it back and giving Aiya a splitting headache.

"Now push forward and finish them off!" cried Kiara as her bey rushed forward and clashed with Arachne, creating a storm of sparks.

"This will be one attack you can't deflect!" roared Aiya. "Arachne! Dark Move!"

Two balls of dark energy appeared in her hands and she pushed them together to create a larger one and threw it at her bey. Arachne exploded with green energy that surged throughout the whole arena.

"Venom Backlash!" screamed Aiya as her bey let loose an explosion of green energy that began to take up the whole arena. The energy was also rushing towards Solaria, and it had nowhere to go.

"End of the line Summers!" laughed Aiya hysterically. "End of the line!"

Kiara watched helplessly as the attack blasted her bey and damaged it thoroughly. The Queen of Order herself felt the dark energy and pain surge through her body and attack her organs and cells. She began to violently vomit up puddles of blood and her wounds all opened up to max, releasing even more blood.

"Kiara!" shouted her friends as she vanished into the green explosion along with her bey.

"It's over!" exclaimed Aiya as Kiara emerged from the smoke, only to fall to the ground with a crash and splash as she fell into the blood her body leaked.

"Kiara…no…" Max stuttered in horror and shock. It then turned to anger and he growled in rage at Aiya. "You little fuck! When I get out of this web, I'm going to fucking kill you! No one hurts my friends and gets away with it! YOU HERE ME! I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL TAKE YOUR BEY AND USE IT TO SKIN YOU ALIVE!"

Everyone was silent, even Aiya. No one had ever seen Max get so angry before, and his eyes had become fully red and his crest was glowing brighter then ever before. In addition, a faint bit of black was also in it.

Max fumed and his blood boiled. Soon, his order energies began ripping through the webs that held him and he fell to the ground and landed. Her looked up at Aiya, who was too stunned to say anything.

"THIS IF FOR KILLING MY FRIEND YOU FUCKING BITCH!" roared Max as ran to Aiya and punched her to the ground, blood spurting from her mouth. "I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!" he cried as he picked up Aiya by the collar and began furiously punching her non-stop.

"Max stop!" Mana finally cried.

"This isn't you Max!" added Blaze.

"Don't do something you'll regret!" Simon also cried.

"IT'S TOO LATE!" Max snapped as he threw Aiya to the ground with a crash. "SHE SHOULD HAVE STOPPED HERSELF FROM KILLING MY FRIEND! NOW I'M GOING TO MAKE HER REGRET HER DECISION!"

'It's like he's become possessed by his inner demons,' thought Kenny.

"YOU AIYA! WILL DIE TONIGHT!" hissed Max as he conjured a knife or red energy and prepared to plunge it into her heart.

Aiya finally seemed to regain her senses and unleashed a burst of green energy that knocked Max back and smacked his head against a pole, knocking him out. His order knife turned into energy and floated out to Kiara's body and entered her.

"It's over!" Aiya declared. "Kiara Summers is dead and she will be used to bring forth my spider army!"

"Not if anything to say about it have," stuttered Kiara as she managed to stand and face her opponent.

"She's alive!" cried Sierra in joy.

"How did you survive!" protested Aiya.

"Max's energy," said Kiara. "I was truly one of his friends. His power somehow revived me."

"Doesn't matter!" spat Aiya. "You still lost!"

"Not yet," Kiara replied as her bey emerged from the smoke, still spinning. "Let's finish this!"

'Max,' she thought. 'I'll take your power, and use it to win!'

"Arachne!"

"Solaria!"

The two beys moved away and absorbed energy from their owners, increasing their powers. Solaria glowed ruby red, while Arachne glowed a dark green.

The two bladers looked at each other and prepared for the final clash.

"Roar Solaria!"

"Howl Arachne!"

The two beys launched towards each other and collided, creating an explosion of red and green energy. The wind was blown outwards from the blast and the two bladers pushed forward.

"This will end you!" screamed Aiya as she generated a ball of green energy and threw it at her bey, the energy creating an explosion that forced Solaria back.

"I will win!" retorted Kiara as her crest glowed and she created her own ball of ruby energy and thrust it into her bey. This created an explosion that countered Arachne's, and both canceled each other out before their beys created another explosion that sent them flying into the air.

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" the both exclaimed as their beys shot downward and clashed as they smashed into the silk arena, shattering it but their beys battled on in midair.

"SOLARIA!"

"ARACHNE!"

The Lioness and the Spider emerged and tangled with each other. Solaria charged in with a claw ready for a slash, while the Spider went in with its fangs opened ready for a bite. The two beasts smashed into each other and created yet another explosion that blasted away the bey spirits.

The two bladers focused and put all they could into their attacks as their beys battled in the air. Sparks flew through the air and the battle was creating a light show of red and green.

The two bladers roared as their beys flew back before coming in again and blasting each other.

"DARK MOVE! VENOM BACKLASH!"

"ORDER MOVE! LIGHT OF SOLARIA!"

Arachne unleashed an explosion of dark green energy while Solaria charged and unleashed a ruby light that obliterated the dark green energy and pushed itself and Arachne into the ground with a crash. The final explosion sent both bladers flying back and landing with a crash. Both were unconscious.

Everyone watched as the smoke cleared, waiting to see who had won and who had lost. And from the smoke emerged…

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Continued: Next Time – Into the Woods<strong>

**Coming to realize that the remainder of the missing students will eventually reappear as chaos possessed maniacs, the gang prepare themselves. Soon, the mysterious "Heavenly Queen" arrives and begins purifying all the students, turning them into completely obedient slaves based on fairytale characters and literally takes over the school. Even the gang is eventually forced under the spell except for Simon, who is forced to take on the "Queen" alone. And if he loses, the academy will be trapped in stasis forever and he'll be forced to be the Queen's slave and lover for all eternity! Can Simon stop the Queen and her diabolic fairytale, or will the Queen be the only one to have a happy ending? Meanwhile, Max deals with the fallout of his anger and powers when he attacked Aiya and begins to question his own morality. **

**Hope you all found this chapter satisfying and all! Did I make you all angry with the cliffhanger? We'll find out more about Max's little violent out burst next chapter! Next time Simon will step up for a battle with Gryphos to face the "Queen!" Expect a lot of fairytale references next chapter because the "Queen's" mission is to have the ultimate "Happy Ending!" And Simon is the only one who can stop her. So keep your eyes all peeled for the next chapter and the conclusion to this battle and tell me which chaos student YOU think will appear next chapter! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter and ****PRETTY PLEASE REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THOUGHT! **

**ALSO, HAPPY NEW YEAR AGAIN! **


	38. Chapter 38: Heaven's Judgement

**OMG! I finally finished this chapter after five whole rewrites of it. No joke! Five times I rewrote this! I got so frustrated! I just couldn't get it right. I couldn't find a balance of the plot and subplot and some times certain parts of the chapter just really annoyed me so I had to do it all over again. It made for a tone of work. But finally after three weeks the next chapter is here, even if it isn't one of my best pieces. In the end, I never did get the chapter right but out of all five rewrites, this was the best.**

**Anyways, today (technically fourteen days ago) we celebrate the 1****st**** Year Anniversary of the Beyblade: Metal Heroes franchise and the One Year Anniversary specifically for Season 1: Darkness Transcends. We've come a long way from when the story was simply Beyblade Legends Academy, and then when the story became popular enough I began expanding the story to go beyond to a franchise! And to celebrate, I'm going to let you in on some of the details for Season 2: Dark Prophecy! **

* * *

><p><strong>*SPOILERS AHEAD!*<strong>

**Max Smith will return as the main protagonist of the series. In addition, he will get a new bey sometime during the season. **

**Other returning characters include: Kiara Summers, Blaze Markura, Simon Nikso, Ninel Lucia Velasquez Bychkov, Santina De Luca, Sierra Crystals and Mana Valkov. However, although the characters have been confirmed to return it does not mean that they will play a prominent role. At this stage, they could be a main character, a supporting one, in a minor role or may only make a few minor appearances or cameos. **

**Characters from the past Metal Fight Beyblade series will appear in the story either in cameo appearances or very minor ones. **

**Max will finally meet his own rival: Something missing in the first season was a proper rival for Max. In Metal Fusion, Metal Masters and Metal Fury, Gingka's rival was Kyoya. But Max never met his. Next season will introduce a new main character, which will become Max's rival! **

**Mr. Heckler, Mr. Fears and the mysterious Project G.E.N.E.S.I.S will play a significant role in the next season. **

**And the biggest leak of all: THERE WILL BE TWO (YET COMPLETELY DIFFERENT) THREATS IN SEASON 2 for Max to face! The title for next season: DARK PROPHECY foreshadows one of these threats. **

**We go a bit deeper into the "Inner Demons" theme as well, something we caught a glimpse of in the last chapter when Max attacked Aiya. **

***SPOILERS END!***

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><p><strong>Now for the review responses. <strong>

**Kawaiino Tenshi Kiki: **Yes, it was a long chapter. That's funny because I was originally worried when I began writing it that it'd be too short. But no such worries. I still can't believe 2014 is over. I'm trying to adjust to it all. It seems each year is moving faster and I still can't believe it's been a year since I started this story. Anyway, I'm glad you liked the chapter. I myself laughed when I was writing Max's sleep blading scene, I had been preparing this for some time now but was waiting for a good time to put it in.

I'm a bit confused as to who you meant by "those mysterious guys hidden." Were you talking about those boys who were going to vandalize the teachers building? Because if you were, then they had nothing to do with the Dark Order.

The conversation between Max and Mana and when she kept calling him idiot was not in the original plan for the chapter. But when I had Mana call Max idiot once, I decided to expand it and make it a whole argument. Why not give them a love-hate relationship (although it's basically just a hate relationship). The Max is an "idiot" gag is going to stick. And Max telling Mana everything that happened in one long sentence was supposed to be funny. I don't know how it is for everyone, but it is actually kind of hard writing such a long sentence without full stops or comas. Mainly because you need to keep changing points without pausing.

Yep, I made Kiara nearly die in the last chapter. It was only when some of Max's powers revived her. And Max's out burst is the first sign of Max's own dark side. One of the themes for the franchise is facing your "inner demons" and this is the first little hint of this theme. Sorry you got a little angry because I left it on a cliffhanger, but then again I myself get annoyed when that happens too.

**Bristleclaw: **Yep, Aiya returned…as a chaos possessed maniac! I will write some more! Also, THANK YOU for reviewing because you haven't been doing so for a while now.

**MarsTwilight: **Firstly, the people who were possessed are still in comas and were saved from Frieda by Max. And the kids right now becoming chaos possessed are the ones who got attacked. So, the kids in comas can't really say anything and the kids that are still missing are all going to come back as chaos maniacs.

Happy to know I can keep surprising you with the plot! And this story is supposed to act like a TV show. Hypothetically at least. And I reckon it would be awesome and epic to watch on TV!

**AKA99: **Yep, Max has a dark side. I believe everyone does no matter how deep or concealed it may be. A theme for this story us facing your "inner demons" and that's why this little outburst from Max was shown. I'm also glad you were excited for this chapter.

**Alpha Dragonis: **You suggested that the outburst from Max is similar to what happened to Hermes in "Seeds of Destruction," as it involved emotional stress. That is interesting but not necessarily the reason. Hermes and Athena lost control of their crests because of inexperience and that it must be controlled through small doses. Max lost control of his emotions and his crest powers activated because he was greatly angered.

**Gingercookiessnaps: **Thanks for thinking of the previous chapter as awesome! Yeah, I liked writing Mana in this chapter mainly because of how she was and what she said. Also her interactions with Max were funny. Yes these last chapters will be exciting and I'm excited to write them! Thanks for understanding about the increasing length of chapters and I will keep up the good work!

**AlchemistWarriorDiamondDust: **Yeah, that's why Viper is called "Viper," because he has a Serpent bey. The names Professor Poison and Professor Snake didn't sound good and Professor Snape is too popular due to Harry Potter. Thanks for liking the chapter and I'm happy to know you're excited about this chapter.

**Indestructible Black Rose: **It was a cliffhanger. Why not put everyone on edge and then stop short of telling them who won? Well, you get to find out who won this chapter. Yeah, Kiara did nearly die but there's no way I was ACTUALLY going to let her die. The "death" theme in this story isn't happening for a while. That's a theme for a later season. Max is scary when he get's angry because he really cares about his friends and he thought Aiya had killed Kiara. It's the first hint at Max's dark side. Thanks for telling me I did good as well!

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><p><strong>Okay, we finally get chapter 38. And what does every think of my new pen name: Infinity Wizard? Good move, bad move? <strong>

**ALSO, THERE'S AN IMPORTANT NOTE AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER EVERYONE MUST READ! **

**Now, you may also all be wondering why the name for this chapter is different. Well, this chapter ended up being over 15,000 WORDS LONG! YEP, 15,000! I decided to halve the chapter, and you're getting the first second part will be 'Into the Woods.' No battles in this one, but you you will get two next chapter! **

**Anyway, hope you all enjoy the chapter and ****PLEASE REVIEW/FAVORITE/FOLLOW! **

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><p><strong>Chapter 38: Heaven's Judgement <strong>

…And from the smoke emerged Solaria, barely spinning. It came to a stop near Kiara's hand while Arachne was busted and broken in a crater near the fallen Aiya.

Kiara had won and Aiya had lost.

The two large spiders created by Aiya shrieked in pain before slowly melting away and then vanishing. The web that had everyone was captured in also vanished and the captive bladers were released.

The group of boys who had been attempting to vandalize the teachers building slumped to the ground however, revealing chaos burn symbols on the back of their heads. Their souls had already been taken.

"It's no good," Kenny said as he checked each boy. "They're all in comas."

They then all immediately ran over to Kiara and checked to see if she was okay.

"She's not dead is she?" asked Blaze quietly.

Simon bent down to check her pulse. He didn't say anything for a moment before sighing with relief. "No," he stated. "She's alive."

Viper looked to Aiya. "I'm assuming she lost her soul since she lost."

"Yeah," replied Blaze.

Mana and Sierra meanwhile had treaded over to Max, who was still slumped against the pole he had been smashed into. Blood leaked from a wound in his head.

"Did you see how angry he got?" asked Mana as she tilted her head.

Sierra didn't reply straight away and folded her arms. "Yeah, it was so…unlike him. I don't think I've ever seen him _actually _get angry."

"It was strange when his eyes went completely red," noted Mana as she recalled when Max's crest had briefly changed to a darker tone and his eyes were being empowered by the crest's power.

Sierra didn't answer, and she and Mana continued to stare at the unconscious body of Max. Kenny broke the silence.

"I think we'd better get them all to the hospital wing," the bey mechanic called out as he carried the unconscious Aiya over his back. Next to him was Professor Viper, carrying Kiara. Blaze and Simon were each carrying one of the now soulless boys.

Mana walked over to another boy and picked him up while Sierra flung Max over her back and walked to the stairs with the others.

"We'll come back for the rest of the boys," suggested Viper as they left.

* * *

><p>In the dark room sat Lord Zygor once again, sipping his wine and watching from a TV the battle that had just taken place.<p>

Zygor grinned. "So the seed is starting to bring out the dark nature of Max's emotions. Good. And even though Aiya lost, the next chaos student will be much more powerful." He laughed. "It's going to be quite a party."

* * *

><p>Simon, Blaze, Kenny and Kiara ran for their lives, rushing through the brick corridors with their weapons in hand, trying to get away.<p>

"Is he still coming?" questioned Blaze from the front.

Kenny, who was at the back of the pack, briefly turned his head behind to see a dark figure looming not to far away.

"Yes!" he squealed in fear as he tried to pick up the pace.

"This way!" shouted Kiara as she lead Blaze and the others down a thin corridor towards an open wall. There stood a rickety old bridge that connected their building with one across the street.

"We can lose him on the other side!" declared Simon as the group rushed over the bridge.

Kenny then swung his dagger and severed the ropes to the poles, causing the bridge to fall with a crash.

The gang sighed with relief. That was when the dark figure that had been chasing them came to the open wall and looked down. He gave a growl as his eyes glowed red and he shot an energy blast towards Team Nova Flare.

"Hit the deck!" warned Kenny as the group fell to the ground, with the exception of Blaze, who didn't understand the meaning, to avoid the incoming attack.

"Duck!" cried Kiara as she grabbed Blaze's legs and pulled, causing the red head to fall to the ground, barely avoiding the energy blast as it streamed past and smashed into a wall.

"You could have said duck the first time!" complained Blaze as the gang stood back up.

"We need to run before he tries that attack again!" snapped Simon as the gang ran forward and turned a corner.

In the other building, the dark figure gave a roar of anger and amazingly leapt over to the opposite building and landed with extreme ease.

Meanwhile, Team Nova Flare was still running, searching for a way out of the new building.

"Do you even know where you're going?" asked Kiara to Blaze, who was once again leading the way.

"Sort of!" answered Blaze without any confidence. She then added, "No…not really."

"That was what Max would say when he didn't know," Simon said quietly.

"Max," added Kenny sadly.

That was when there was an explosion from the roof, and the ceiling caved in.

"Look out!" cried Kiara as the gang leapt to the sides of the room to avoid the falling roof. It fell with a crunch as dust and bricks scattered everywhere.

"Is everyone okay?" asked Simon.

"I think so," Kenny answered.

That was when the dark figure leapt into the room from above and faced the gang.

Kiara clenched the grip of her sword harder and charged forward with a battle cry.

The dark figure conjured a sword of red energy and used it to block the incoming attack. He then pushed Kiara back with a kick before plunging his blade into her stomach. She coughed for a few moments and blood leaked from her mouth and wound. Her killer then pulled the blade out of her while she fell down dead.

"NO!" roared Simon as he came in with his shield and used it to plow the dark figure into the wall. But he recovered quickly and leapt over Simon. Before he could react, the dark figure sent his blade through his back, killing him almost instantly.

"Simon!" cried Blaze in despair as the dark figure turned to her. She growled as she reached into her belt and pulled out five throwing stars. She threw them all at once and the dark figure created a red barrier that deflected them and sent them back. Blaze had no time to react and they pierced her shin, throat, groin, and chest. She left out some coughing of blood and cursing as she stumbled over to the dark figure with her fists raised and ready.

The dark figure simply pushed the throwing star still embed in Blaze's chest further in, piercing her heart and killing her.

Kenny was the only one left. The debris from the blown ceiling had blocked the doorways, and they were three stories up, two high to jump from a window.

"Please don't do this," pleaded Kenny as he backed away into a corner and curled up into a ball. "Please."

The dark figure laughed as he stepped out of the shadows, revealing himself as Max. He then held his sword up and brought it down on the screaming Simon while laughing crazily.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

><p>Max let out a gasp as he sat up in bed, breathing heavily and sweating. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and rested his face in his hands. He then looked up and saw he was in the hospital wing and had a bandage around his head.<p>

He waited a moment for his eyesight to come back properly and saw that Team Nova Flare, Sierra, Mana, Ninel and Viper were standing around his bed.

"Are you okay?" Sierra questioned, having seen Max wake up from his nightmare.

Max rubbed the back of his head and laughed innocently, "It was just a bad dream," he lied. But in his mind, he was still panicking.

The gang looked a bit skeptical to believe this, as he had been thrashing in his sleep at the time. They decided not to say anything.

"What happened?" the Prince of Fire asked, changing the subject.

"You kind of 'Hulked' out an got super angry," explained Mana. "And when you attacked Aiya, she kind of kicked your but and knocked you out."

"That's right," said Max quietly as he lowered his head. "I lost control…I just felt this anger overcome me suddenly. I couldn't stop." He gritted his teeth and scrunched his fists up.

There was silence, and no one spoke until Max did again. He shifted to face Kiara, who had bandages on her arms and face from her previous battle.

"So I'm guessing you won then?" he stated. "Since you didn't lose your soul."

Kiara nodded. "Barely. In fact, I think you're powers saved me from dying."

Max's eyes widened. "Really?"

"It definitely looked that way," Viper answered with his arms crossed. "When you got knocked out some of your order energy transferred into Kiara and appeared to bring her back to life."

Max thought this over for a moment before questioning, "How long was I out?"

"Two days," responded Kenny. "You suffered a mild concussion. We weren't sure why you were out for so long."

Max nodded. "I see." He then pulled the covers off and stepped out of bed. He was still in his normal clothes, minus his jacket, which was folded on the bedside table. He picked it up and put it on.

"You sure you just want go?" asked Simon. "You were asleep for two whole days and it couldn't be explained."

Max shrugged. "I'm a tough nut," he answered. "I'll get through. It'd probably just had to do with my powers."

'But that's what I'm afraid of…' he thought to himself worryingly but didn't show it.

"If you say so," Blaze commented.

Viper checked his watch and interrupted. "We better get to the assembly," he advised.

The gang began to move out, with Max briefly looking at Aiya, who was back in her bed, lying there without a soul along with Frieda.

He shivered briefly before stepping outside. As the gang made their way down the halls, Max noticed it was empty.

"Where is everyone?" he asked.

"Oh that's right," responded Mana. "Two days ago, this mysterious club began to show up. They're called the Peace Keepers. They wear all white and claim their _souls_ have been purified."

"They're kind of creepy," added Ninel. "The members lack emotion and dislike other people. They supposedly have a Queen, which acts as their leader. No one likes them, but for some reason the club just seems to be growing."

"It's more of a cult then a club," explained Kenny. "They have these mysterious meetings and also claim to have rituals."

Max narrowed his eyes. "That's weird."

"That's what the assembly is about," said Viper. "Their leader the Queen wishes to speak to the school about the negative publicity they're getting."

"And Mr. Jones is letting them?" asked Max.

"He deemed it as fair," stated Kiara with a shrug. "They're not really fazing him all that much."

They exited the building and came out into the sunlight. Max had to gasp, sitting in the assembly area was the kids. But half of them were wearing all white. The teachers sat on stage, with a podium at the front of it for the speaker.

The gang stopped and waited at the back.

"Half of the school joined the cult?" Max stuttered in disbelief.

"But only this morning a quarter of the school were apart of the Guardians of Peace," protested Mana in confusion.

"Something isn't right here," growled Max.

That was when the "Queen" entered the fray and stood up at the podium. She wore a long white dress and brown sandals. She had golden bracelets, a silver necklace with a purple gem and a white cape. She also wore a white hood, masking her identity.

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen," she stated in a proud sweet voice. "I am the leader of the Peace Keepers, the Queen!"

The fellow members of the cult began to cheer and chant for their empress.

"She finally appears in person," noted Viper.

"I have slowly built up this society," the Queen declared. "I have brought a new peace to the academy. But now, you all must bow to me and bring on the true peace!"

There were mutters of confusion from the crowd who weren't already Peace Keepers.

"Don't worry," the Queen continued with a grin. "There are no requirements to be one of us. We take in all members. Fat, skinny, male, female, black or white! All shall become one of us! And by the chaos powers invested in me…"

"Chaos powers!" gasped Max. "She's working for Zygor and Nemesis' Heir!"

"…I shall make you all see the light!" the Queen finished as her purple necklace let out an explosion of purple energy that filled the whole area. The kids at the front who saw the energy suddenly transformed into Peace Keeper and their clothes changed to white.

"Holy cow!" cried Simon. "That light is turning kids automatically into members!"

"Look away!" warned Kenny as the others turned around. The kids sitting at the back of the assembly did the same, but Ninel wasn't as lucky. She caught the light out of the corner of her eye and was immediately transformed.

"Order must be restored!" she declared as she grabbed Sierra by the wrist and turned her around, exposing her to the light and transforming her into a Peace Keeper as well.

The kids who hadn't been affected by the light began to run away, with the Peace Keeper members chasing after them.

The Queen threw her arms into the air. "The chaos will spread through the land! Anyway who resist shall be judged by the heavens! Those who do not follow the rules shall be punished! And only my defeat will restore destruction to our world! Whoever dare to do so shall go…Into The Woods!"

She then vanished in a cloud of smoke while the riot began.

Sierra and Ninel both grabbed Mana as the possessing light faded, but she sent a quick kick to Sierra's stomach knocking her into a chair.

"Forgive me Ninel!" Mana apologized as she sent her fist ramming into the Alicorn blader's face, the attack knocking her out.

"Run!" cried Max as the gang fled towards the outskirts of the school. "We have to get to the woods and beat the Queen!"

"Too late!" shouted Blaze as a horde of Peace Keeper's ran towards them from the front and behind.

"We need to hide and make a plan!" suggested Simon as they turned right and ran towards the office building.

"You cannot escape us!" chanted the Peace Keeper members. "This island is ours now! So says the Witching Hour!"

"Witching Hour?" questioned Kiara.

That was when they all saw it, the sky suddenly went black, the sun moved behind the moon, creating an eclipse! Darkness had fallen upon the Beyblade Legends Academy.

Team Nova Flare, Viper and Mana watched the anomaly occur in horror. They couldn't believe something like this could have happened.

"There is no escape!" called out a voice as five members of the Peace Keepers emerged from the crowd. Their clothing was not like the normal average clothes for the cult. They wore silver trench coats with a gold trim and white pants. They also wore gold shirts, and gold shoes. Around their heads were golden bands.

"I am Vincent!" said the person from before. "I am the leader of the Queen's guards! We are the Guardians of Light!" He was tall and had long brown hair, a mullet and blue eyes.

"I am Tim!" declared the boy standing beside Vincent. "I am the second in command!" He was a bit shorter then his master and had short black hair and green eyes.

"I am Ellie!" stated the girl on the other side of Vincent. She had long brown hair tied up in a ponytail and brown eyes.

"I am Charles!" cried the forth member who stood next to Ellie. He was short and had spiky black hair and red eyes.

The last member, who stood next to Tim, said, "And I am Mia!" She had long black hair tied up in twin ponytails and pink eyes.

"Give yourselves up and no harm shall come to you!" Vincent shouted out.

"How dumb do you think we are?" retorted Max.

"Very well," returned Vincent. "Then we have no choice but to pass judgment on you! Seize them!" He pointed at the gang and the Peace Keepers began to swarm them.

"I think we should start running again?" suggested Viper and the gang complied. They bolted towards the buildings with the cult running after them.

As they came near the principal's office, a part of the ground came up like a trap door and a hand grabbed Max by the wrist, pulling him down into the darkness. Max instinctively grabbed on to the nearest thing, Mana.

"You idiot!" she shouted as she was forced into the hole along with Max.

"We have to go after them!" groaned Kiara as she and the rest leapt into the hole, with the panel closing up and hiding them.

The gang landed in heap on a hard stone floor with a figure standing not to far away holding a candle.

When Mana managed to adjust her eyes to the darkness, she smacked Max over the head.

"Hey!" he snapped as the gang stood up and brushed themselves off. "I didn't do it on purpose! And I thought I told you to stop calling me and idiot!"

"Alright," sighed Mana. "I won't call you an idiot anymore you idiot."

Max growled but was shushed by the man with the candle. He held the candle to his face so he could be seen.

"Mr. Jones?" questioned Viper.

"It's me," the principal replied quietly. "Yes. But we must keep quiet or they'll find us."

He walked over to a large candlestick in the center of the room and used his smaller candle to light the larger one. It illuminated the room and he blew the one he held out.

The gang could now see the room better. It was made of stone, with shelves of food, water, books and other supplies. It appeared to be a shelter of some sort.

"Where are we?" asked Blaze.

"This is a special shelter designed for safety purposes," Jones explained. "It was placed in the school in case of emergencies. There are ten placed all around the school but the teachers don't know about this one so we should be safe for now. Although I don't think this was designed for hiding from a cult."

"How come you didn't get possessed when you saw the light?" Simon questioned.

"I was wearing sunglasses at the time," replied Jones. "It appears that because my eyes weren't directly exposed to the light the magic cold not posses me. I came here for safety and pulled you in when I saw you were also not possessed."

"We need to plan an attack and quick," Max stated. He turned to Jones. "Do you have any maps of the school?"

Jones nodded. "Of course." He walked over to the shelves of books and pulled out a map. He unfolded it and laid it down on the ground.

The gang surrounded and examined it.

"As you can see," Jones explained. "The actual school grounds only take up the front quarter of the island."

"What are those grey lines on the map?" questioned Simon.

"They're secret passages that connect the other shelters," Jones answered. "With the exception of this one. The passages also run with the sewer lines."

"Maybe we can use the sewer lines to bypass the cult and get to the woods," observed Kenny, one comes up right near the fence. "That's the sewer entrance there." He was pointing at a large metal lid on the far wall.

"We just have to hope we can beat the Queen," added Blaze.

"I think we should hurry before it's too late," suggested Viper.

That was when there was a crash, and the trap doors burst open, and the Guardians of Light leapt down into the shelter.

"How did you find us so quick?" demanded Mana.

"You didn't notice your friends tagged you when you attacked them," Vincent snorted.

Mana gasped as she examined his elbow, a small white device had been stuck to it. She pulled it off and threw it to the ground.

"Get that passage open!" cried Max as Jones and Viper went over to the part of the wall that had a metal lid over it. They began to use spanners from a toolbox on the shelf to undo the bolts.

"Give it up!" snarled Tim.

"You have no idea who you're facing!" cried Max as he generated a ball of order energy and threw it at Vincent, but he easily dodged to the side to avoid it.

"Interesting," he grinned. "I've been wanting to test my powers on you."

"Huh?"

"We Guardians are not like the other members of the Peace Keepers," Vincent explained. "We gave our own life energy and a part of our souls so that we could become as powerful as we are. Others are doing it as well right at this moment."

"So what?" rebuffed Max. "I'm not afraid of you!"

"You should be!" snapped Vincent as he threw his arm out. From his palm shot a stream of pure white energy.

"Look out!" warned Jones as Max ducked out of the way. He stood up and generated a red disk of energy and threw it at Vincent like a frisbee.

"Childs play!" the lead Guardian laughed as he used his glowing white palm to strike the incoming disk, shattering it.

Max growled but continued to attack. He generated two swords of energy and charged at Vincent with them raised.

"I don't think so!" retorted Vincent as he generated a shield of light to block the swords. When the shield vanished it also blasted the swords away.

Vincent then created a lance of light and plunged it towards Max's chest, but he managed to lean out of the way punched it, the attack shattering the weapon.

Max moved in with a punch but Vincent ducked underneath it and sent a knife hand strike to Max's stomach, successfully winding him.

Max stumbled back in pain while Vincent stood back up again.

He declared, "Resistance is futile!"

"We got it open!" called out Jones as Simon and Viper went in through the sewer opening first. Max ran over and got in next. But that was when Vincent came forward and knocked Jones out of the way before he could get in.

"You're not getting away!" he declared as he went to step in.

"No way!" snapped Mana as she grabbed the metal lid for the wall and threw it at Vincent, the blow knocking him into a shelf.

Kenny grabbed a bottle of gasoline from a shelf and sprayed it on one of the support posts. He then lit a match and stated to the three inside the sewer, "We'll hold them off for as long as we can! We can't let them follow you!"

"Wait!" cried Simon, but it was too late. Vincent made a grab for Kenny to stop him, but he wasn't quick enough. Kenny threw the match onto the post and it immediately caught fire and crumbled. The roof supports caught fire as well and broke away, causing one side of the shelter to fall apart and subsequently block off the sewer lane.

"No!" cried Max as the opening was blocked off by rubble.

Viper placed a hand on the young blader's shoulder. "They knew the risks." He stated. "They've given us a chance to get away! We need to take it!"

Max sighed before they began to walk along the sewer lane. They had studied the map long enough to know which way to go. Viper pulled his iPhone out and used the 'Flashlight' app to illuminate their path.

* * *

><p>"This is it," muttered Simon as Viper used his phone to shine light on a ladder leading up to the surface.<p>

Max took a deep breath. "We need to power through as quick as possible."

"Indeed," added Viper. He went up the ladder first, followed by Max and then Simon. He pushed on the manhole cover and slid it away so he could pull himself out. Max and Simon followed him.

Viper put the manhole cover back while the boys looked around.

"We're at the back of the school," observed Simon. "The gate to the forest shouldn't be too far away."

Max, Viper and Simon sprinted along the fence line until they came to the edge of the school grounds were the door to the fence had been broken down. Roots had broken it down and had grown all along the fence line. In addition, some roots had come together to form the word 'Wonderland.'

"So, the Queen is most definitely in the woods," stated Viper, with a mix of fear and thrill.

"Guess we have no choice but to beat that bitch to a pulp until she restores the school to normal," growled Max as he clenched his fists.

Simon gazed over to the dark glare in Max's eyes and watched as his crest briefly illuminated. He decided not to comment on this.

"There's bound to be traps and stuff," Simon observed. "I suggest we tread on carefully."

Max nodded. "Good idea."

The trio each took a single step 'into the woods,' and five figures emerged from the shadows to confront them. Max gasped; it was Kenny, Kiara, Blaze, Mana and Sierra all under possession.

"This is sacred ground," scowled Mana with her arms folded.

"This is the Queen's holy place," added Sierra.

"Scum like you have no permission here," stated Kenny.

"Leave now," said Blaze.

"Or suffer the consequences," finished Kiara.

"They got them as well," Viper noted before frowning. "This is not good. We're running out of time to beat the Queen."

Max gritted his teeth in annoyance and examined his friends - now enemies.

"Looks like we have no choice to fight," Simon commented.

Max nodded in reply and as Simon stepped forward, he threw his arm out to block him.

Simon raised an eyebrow to his friend. "Max?"

"Go on and defeat the Queen Simon," Max beckoned as he looked at his teammate. "Me and Viper will hold them off. But you need to go and wipe the Queen out before it's too late."

"But-"

"No buts!" Max interrupted. "I believe in you!"

Simon paused for a moment before running to the side and off into the woods.

Max and Viper, the latter not that confidently, turned and starred down their possessed friends.

"Ready Professor?" asked Max as his crest lit up with red energy.

"Not really," answered Viper as he adjusted his glasses. "Maybe we can find a way to settle this in a non-violent way."

"You have already trespassed on sacred ground," snapped Kenny. "There is no _non-violent _way to settle this. We shall defeat you and subsequently purify your souls."

"You mean that stupid thing that makes us obedient slaves to the Queen?" Max growled in response.

"Say what you wish," barked Mana. "But you will come to your sense when we save you."

"Enough!" roared Max as he leapt forward and sucker-punched Kenny, the attack knocking him back into a tree.

Then Blaze and Kiara ran forward and spear tackled Max to the ground.

"Crap!" he cursed as his two teammates dug their nails into his skin. "I can't hit a girl! How am I supposed to fight back?"

"I see the flaw in this plan now," replied Viper, who was backing away from Sierra and Mana as they approached him. "It's against a man's morals to attack a female. Not to mention it's completely dishonorable."

"You cannot resist," snickered Blaze as she punched Max in the face, sending blood spurting from his lip.

"Give up now and surrender," added Kiara as she kicked Max in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

"That's low on so many levels," huffed Max as he tried to recover from the attack.

"This is a bad development," conceded Viper who had climbed a tree to escape Mana and Sierra. But the two girls had begun climbing after him.

That was when a thought struck Max. "Maybe we don't have to hit them to beat them."

"How do you plan on doing that?" asked Viper from the tree.

Max focused and his crest it up. He then unleashed an explosion of crimson energy, which blasted Blaze and Kiara off of him.

He stood up and turned as Kenny, who had finally recovered from being sucker-punched, charged at him.

"Play ball!" shouted Max as he created a red energy ball the size of a baseball and threw it at Kenny. It exploded on impact, sending Kenny flying back into a tree with a crash.

"Sorry Kenny," he apologized. "Didn't have much of a choice."

"You got rid of them, good!" Viper called out, who had now climbed to the top of the tree. "Now how about lending your teacher a hand?"

"Coming!" retuned Max as he ran to the base of the tree and looked up to Mana and Sierra. "Okay girls, if you remember this please don't kill me."

He held his arms up and twin streams of red energy shot from his hands and smashed into the girls, knocking them out of the tree with a crash. The impact was enough to knock them unconscious.

"Thank you Max," complimented Viper as he climbed down the tree and brushed himself off. He thought for a moment before adding, "I guess we better catch up to Simon."

Max nodded. "That seemed too easy some how though?" He observed. "Was that really all the defense the Queen had?"

"Oh there's much more defense," laughed the voice of Vincent as he, along with the other Guardians of Light, emerged from the shadows to face Max and Viper.

Viper looked at Max angrily. "You had to say it didn't you."

Max groaned but ignored the question. He turned to the Guardians of Light and complained "No these guys again,"

Vincent narrowed his eyes at Max. "None shall pass. You may have defeated our lackeys, but you will not get the same outcome against us."

Viper took a step back. "I don't know if we can do this," he whispered to Max. "There's five of them and two of us, we're outgunned."

"That's exactly right," hissed Vincent as he threw his hand out and generated an energy ball of light. He threw it forward and it crashed into Viper before he could move, and he was sent flying back into a tree with a crash. He said some gibberish before slumping down unconscious.

"Professor!" cried Max in horror, but it was no use, Viper was out of the game. He turned to Vincent just as he sent another energy ball his way.

Max managed to jump out of the way and rolled before taking cover behind a tree.

"You can't hide Max!" taunted Vincent as he generated a machine gun composed of light and began firing at the tree Max hid behind.

The Prince of Fire ducked down as bullets sprayed through the woods and blasted the tree in front of him.

Vincent stopped firing and melded his gun into a bazooka. He took aim and fired it at Max's hiding spot, blowing the tree in half and causing it to fall in Max's direction.

"Shit!" panicked Max as he leapt out of the way of the falling and burning tree.

As he stood up, he saw the Guardians of Light coming towards him, and he took a fighting stance.

"Die Prince of Fire!" roared Vincent as he threw an energy pulse at Max.

"Uh oh!" screamed Max as he threw his arms up to cover his face. He then subconsciously created a red energy shield in front of him that deflected the incoming attack. The fire blader moved his arms away from his face when he realized he had created a shield and sighed with relief. "Phew."

Vincent grinned. "It appears," he loafed. "That we cannot settle this in such a way. We must bey battle to defeat you." He reached for his belt and pulled out his launcher and bey.

The rest of the Guardians silently followed.

"If it's a battle you want then it's a battle you've got!" challenged Max as he ripped his launcher from his belt and connected his bey. "Me and Flame Swordsman will burn you to ashes!"

"You can try!" spat Vincent as he connected his bey. "But justice will find its way to punish you!"

Max groaned and shook his head. "You're that brainwashed that you actually think you're doing good?" he asked in disbelief.

"We are not brainwashed!" retorted Vincent. "We have simply been purified and shown the sins of the world and how we can redeem it! By getting rid of scum like you!"

Max seemed disgraced by the last comment. "I'm the scum!" he cursed angrily.

Vincent smiled maliciously. "Prepare for your judgment!"

"Bring it weirdo!" Max returned.

"Three!" cried Vincent.

"Two!" added the remaining Guardians.

"One!" finished Max.

"Let It Rip!"

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><p><strong>Next Time – Into The Woods<strong>

**Darkness has settled over the Academy as the Queen takes over with her society known as the Keepers of Peace. Now Max must face her henchmen the Guardians of Light in a battle! Can Max defeat five beys all at once? And can Simon defeat the Queen along with her fairytale attacks and strategies! Or will the Queen be the only one to have a happy ending...? **

**IMPORTANT NOTE ALL MUST READ: Later today****, I shall be leaving for my families yearly holiday. Some of you will probably remember that a similar thing happened last year at about the same time. I'll be gone for six days and I'm banned for taking my laptop! (NO! Not my precious laptop!) That means I won't be able to write, although I can still plan out the next chapter in my head. My Dad is bringing his laptop, so I will post the next and already completed second half of this chapter either next week or sooner if the demand for it is great enough. I can also see all of the reviews you guys will HOPEFULLY send me. **

**Sorry again that this took so long to write, but look on the bright side! It was so long that I had to split it into two, now you get two chapters! **

**I guess that's all I have to say and tell me what you thought of the chapter! ****PLEASE REVIEW/FAVORITE/FOLLOW! **


	39. Chapter 39: Into the Woods

**As you all can see, this is part 2 of the previous chapter! This chapter is all beyblade battles, to make up for the last one which contained none of that! We're getting two awesome battles in this chapter! How cool is that! Not one, but two battles! I came back from my holiday today, and although it was awesome, you can't beat home sweet home! And yes the title for this chapter is a reference to the movie "Into the Woods." I haven't seen the movie but I heard it is good. I thought the title was fitting because this chapter has heaps of fairytale references in it during the battle between Simon and the Queen. **

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><p><strong>Now for the review responses! <strong>

**Indestructible Black Rose: **I was aiming for an epic chapter, thank god it came out that way. Yes, Kiara will be back for Season 2 and Simon gets his chance to shine in this chapter against the Queen! Still can't believe this story has been going on for a year and thanks for reading as always!

**Alpha Dragonis: **The reason I named myself 'Infinity Wizard' is because my writing is 'magical' and because my imagination is 'infinite!' And yeah, you weren't right about Max's outburst, but you weren't wrong at the same time. I felt that since the franchise had been going for a year, I should celebrate by leaking some details for the next part of the series. You strongly believe Max can defeat five beys, okay, read on and see! Also, Max's battle with Unmei was his toughest so far, but his toughest is yet to come later!

**Gingercookiessnaps: **Glad you loved the chapter and thought it was good that I took the time to rewrite it so many times, even if it wasn't perfect in my opinion in the end. Makes me smile to know that you think I'm an awesome writer and would do good as an original one as well. One of my dreams is to become an author, and I guess writing fanfics are the stepping stones. No, I don't have dA account although I am considering it. And I love Max and Mana's dynamic as well! It's definitely something that will continue on in the franchise. We'll see Simon face off against the Queen in this episode while Max faces the Guardians of Light and five beys! Now that I think about it, the Guardians of Light are jerks, as you'll see in this chapter.

**AKA99: **You should be excited for the sequel! I'm excited too, and I know everything basically that happens in it! I'm excited about writing it! Also, you compared the current situation Max and Simon are in to being survivors in a zombie apocalypse. That is in ironic comparison, and you'll see why once you read the preview for the next chapter.

**Kawaiino Tenshi Kiki: **Yep, this is easily my top fic! And I must celebrate for getting so many reviews in a year! I'm hoping to get over 300 by the time this story is done! And looking at the current number of 282, I only need another 18! Thanks for thinking of the previous chapter as epic and although Frieda and Morgan won't appear very much since they're in comas, you still have Carlos who will eventually return as a chaos possessed maniac! But that's for a later chapter. When creating the Guardians of Light, I decided to make them stuck up and mean. I wanted them to be very unlikable. Don't bash yourself up over the comment on the boys attempting to vandalize the teacher's building, we all make mistakes. After all, we're only human. The sequel is definitely close, only ten more chapters to go over all (not including this one). We have four more chapters in the Chaotic Order arc (unless I write really big chapters again and have to cut them in half) and six in the Dark Oath Arc: the final phase of Season 1!

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><p><strong>Here we go, part two of two in the mini "Peace Keepers" arc, as I'm going to call it! We finally find out who the "Queen" is and if Max and Simon can save the school from her grasp before its too late! It's time to read some epic bey battles and remember to <span>PLEASE REVIEW WHEN YOU'RE DONE AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THOUGHT! <span>**

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><p><strong>Chapter 39: Into The Woods<strong>

"Three!" cried Vincent.

"Two!" added the rest of the Guardians of Light.

"One!" finished Max.

"Let It Rip!"

The Prince of Fire pulled his ripcord as hard as he possibly could, sending Flame Swordsman flying forward as the Guardians' beys also spun forwards. They all clashed midair before breaking off and falling to the ground.

"My bey," introduced Vincent cockily. "Is the Grand Destroyer!" The bey glowed, illuminating the night. It had the powerful shining white Destroyer energy ring, attached to the silver Grand fusion wheel. Its performance tip was white and wide and its energy ring was tall.

Max's eyes widened. "Wait a minute..." he stuttered. "...Destroyer? Isn't that the name of Julian Konzern's bey? Except his is a Gravity Destroyer?"

"That is correct Max," snickered Vincent. "My lovely Queen was so humble as to give my bey an evolution into Destroyer." His eyes suddenly bulged and he cried gruesomely, "With it I'm going to pave you into the ground!"

Max shivered before looking to the other Guardians and asked, "What about you all then?"

Tim answered first. "Mine is the Grand Capricorn." His bey had a red energy ring and silver fusion wheel, while the rest of the bey had a white color scheme.

"My bey is the Grand Aquario," stated Ellie next. Her bey had a light fusion wheel and green energy ring. The rest of her bey also had a white color scheme.

"I wield the Grand Aries," added Charles. His bey had a black energy ring and gold fusion wheel. Unsurprisingly, the rest of the bey had a white color scheme.

"And finally," said Mia. "I use the Grand Gasher." Her bey had a pink energy ring and silver fusion wheel. Like the rest of the Guardians beys, the rest of her bey had a white color scheme.

"You are facing the Grand Union!" declared Vincent as he clenched his fist. "We, the Guardians of Light shall crush you and subsequently purify your soul!"

Max narrowed his eyes at Vincent. "Yeah, no! There's no way I'm getting my but handed to me by a bunch of whack jobs!"

"That is not in your control!" snarled Vincent before gesturing to Mia. "Would you care to begin?"

"I'd love to," Mia answered with a twisted grin before throwing her arm out. "Gasher! Attack!"

Her bey sped forward towards Swordsman and smashed into it. Swordsman was thrown back from the attack, but wasn't too damaged from it.

"That was nothing!" cried Max. "Let me show you what an attack is! Swordsman! Flame Sword Slash!"

Swordsman set itself ablaze and charged into Gasher, smashing it into the air. The Red Knight then burst from its bey and drew its flaming sword. It swung and smashed it into Gasher as it fell back to the ground, sending it flying into a tree with a crash.

Max grinned. "I'm sorry, had we started," he mocked.

"No," answered Mia, as Gasher emerged unharmed. "Now we start!"

"Say what?" gasped Max when he saw Gasher was still spinning at full power.

"Show him Mia," laughed Vincent, and Mia nodded in reply.

"Gasher!" she declared as she threw her hand into the air. "Special Move! Grand Inter-Dimension!"

"Inter Di-what?" asked Max before having to cover his eyes as Gasher gave off a blinding light.

"Gasher will show you the light!" screeched Mia as she and Max were transported into a realm of multicolored lights that seemed to lack a ground or sky. They appeared to be in some kind of void with energy streams running all over the place. The beys spun in midair, but were in fact on an invisible ground.

"What is this?" questioned Max with a mix of shock and disbelief.

"We are in a Inter-Dimension, a place or void between worlds!" explained Mia proudly. "My new Gasher, thanks to the Queen, has the ability to take us here for battle!"

"This is insane on so many levels!" Max commented as he continued to examine his surroundings. He then turned his attention back to his opponent. "But it doesn't change anything!"

"Oh it does!" grinned Mia as Gasher vanished from sight.

"What the heck!" protested Max. "Where did your bey go?"

"Right here!" snickered Mia as Gasher suddenly reappeared and smashed into Swordsman from the side, sending it flying away.

"Quick Swordsman!" ordered Max as his bey recovered. "Counterattack!"

But Gasher vanished once again, leaving no target for Swordsman to strike.

Max's eyes widened. "What's happening?" he demanded. "Where'd your bey go?"

Mia giggled and replied, "This is the dimension of Gasher. My bey has the ability to blend into the environment like a chameleon."

"That is so overpowered!" complained Max. "I mean, that's like playing a video game and a boss character suddenly can turn invisible. See that's not very fair is it because the boss is just going to pound you then."

"Life isn't fair," Mia returned.

"Yeah but you wouldn't like it if I could suddenly camouflage would you?" Max stated.

Mia didn't reply this time and just looked at Max, he was acting like a child.

"HA!" Max cried in triumph as he pointed at Mia. "You didn't answer! That means you know I'm right but won't admit it!"

Mia gritted her teeth, she was getting agitated. "You are not correct," she growled as she clenched her fist. "I was just getting fed up arguing with you!"

Max looked at Mia confusingly. "Arguing?"

"Yes!" snapped Mia. "We were just arguing!"

"No we weren't," answered Max as he raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"We were arguing!" roared Mia as her right eye twitched. "You got angry that my bey could blend in and you were annoyed because you thought it was overpowered!"

"I know that," Max answered with a smirk. "I was just wasting time so Swordsman could power up."

Mia gasped and looked down at Max's bey, which was spinning at full pace and was alight with flames.

"You tricked me!" spat Mia. "How could I have been outsmarted by someone like you?"

"Simple!" cried Max. "I'm smart and you're not! Let me show you! Swordsman! Flame Burst!"

The fiery bey let off an explosion of fire that sent waves of flames in every direction; filling the void they were trapped in.

"What do you plan to accomplish by doing that?" Mia asked.

Max explained, "I can't see your bey! But if I hit in every direction at once I'm bound to hit something!"

Mia cried out in horror as her Gasher, though invisible, was burnt away by the flames and fell to the center of the void, losing its camouflage ability in the process from the multiple burns on its fusion wheel.

"Let's heat this up Swordsman!" commanded Max as the Red Knight emerged to finish off Gasher.

"I won't go down like this!" growled Mia as a Pink Crab burst from its bey and held its claws out in front of it, ready for battle.

"When I'm done!" declared Max. "That oversized crab will be on a sea food platter!"

"I'd like to see you try!" retorted Mia as the Crab thrust its claw forward. But the Knight ducked out of the way and swung its blade, severing the right claw from the Crab. The crustacean gave a shriek of pain and backed off.

"Finish this Swordsman!" ordered Max as he threw his hand out. "Flame Sword Slash!"

The Knight charged in and slashed, severing the other claw of the Crab before plunging its blade through the opposing spirit's chest. The bey beast gave a shriek before shattering.

"This can't be!" stuttered Mia in disbelief. "I can't lose!"

Max threw his hand into the air and declared, "Let's bust our way out Swordsman! Special Move! Flame Spiral!"

The flames on the Red Knight's blade began to swirl, and he held it up. The sword then unleashed the swirling flames all over the place, blasting the sides of the dimension, the floor and the roof until the dimension became one of fire.

"NO!" screamed Mia in horror.

"Finish it!" roared Max as he fist pumped the air. "Flame Sword Slash!"

The Red Knight charged forward and brought its blade down on Gasher, creating an explosion that destroyed the dimension they were in and bringing them back to reality.

Vincent and the rest of the Guardians gasped when they saw Gasher had been blasted into the ground with a huge crack, defeated.

"Mia no!" cried Vincent as he turned to the defeated blader, who coughed up some blood before falling down unconscious. Everyone just watched her for a moment…

…until Max broke the silence. "Who's next?" he puffed.

Vincent sent Max a deathly stare and growled. "How dare you defeat someone of pure soul?"

"You have pure souls?" Max questioned. "Yeah, sure. Keep telling yourself that."

"Enough!" Vincent snapped. "We're through going easy on you! Guardians attack!" he ordered.

Max watched as Capricorn, Aquario and Aries shot towards him and his bey.

"Go!" exclaimed Max, not at all intimidated of having to go up against three beys at once. "Special Move! Phoenix Fury!"

The Red Knight appeared once again and held his fiery blade into the air. From its burst a Phoenix composed of fire. It gave a loud shrike before soaring into the air and starring down its foes.

Vincent pointed at Max and stated, "Destroy him my fellow guardians!"

"I'm up first!" hissed Charles. "Me and Aries are going to-"

"Destroy me," finished Max for him. "Yeah, real original."

"Shut up!" scowled Charles as he threw his arm out. "Aries will plow through you and your pathetic bey!"

Max simply shook his head as his crest glowed and began to power his bey up. "Let me get back to you on that! For now, Phoenix!"

The flaming bird gave a shriek before soaring downwards towards Aries.

"Not so fast!" sneered Charles. "Aries! Special Move! Grand Upper Smash!"

A black ram with golden horns burst from its bey and leapt up into the air to counter Phoenix's attack.

"Close but no cigar!" snickered Max as his crest gave Phoenix a power boost. "Since I'm not in a creative mood, I'm going to take a page from Yu-Gi-Oh! Mode Change! Immortal God Phoenix!"

Phoenix gave a roar and began to expand to a much more larger and ferocious form, similar to that of the famous Winged Dragon of Ra's Phoenix form from the popular Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist manga.

"That's nothing but a cheap knock-off!" taunted Charles.

Max shrugged. "Perhaps," he answered. "But if it's just as strong as the real deal, then you've got another thing coming! Burn them away Phoenix!"

The 'Immortal God Phoenix' roared in reply before soaring into Aries and transforming into a wave of fire that incinerated the bey beast, shattering it. But like how it did in Yu-Gi-Oh, the Phoenix wasn't done there. It continued on and smashed into Charles and his bey. The Guardian screamed in pain as the fire burned him, and his bey was so overwhelmed that its performance tip melted and the bey came to a sudden stop. Charles fell to the ground with his clothes singed. He coughed up some blood before falling unconscious.

"Return!" ordered Max and the Phoenix returned to its normal state before vanishing away.

"You fucking little runt!" cursed Vincent angrily.

Max ignored him and waved a finger. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Such bad language from someone who claims to be pure of soul," he stated in a mocking tone.

Vincent's eyes widened in anger and his hand twitched. "Are you saying that I am not pure?" he growled.

"No," replied Max before giggling, "I'm _implying _you're not pure. Get it right."

Vincent sent a death stare Max's way and ordered, "Get him Guardians!"

"Capricorn!" cried Tim.

"Aquario!" added Ellie.

The two beys shot forward towards Swordsman, but Max was ready.

"Salamander Fury!" he exclaimed triumphantly as the flaming Salamander burst from its respective bey and let out a roar.

"Capricorn!" declared Tim. "Grand Charge!"

"Aquario!" added Ellie. "Grand Riptide!"

From Capricorn emerged a red goat, which transformed into a spiral that streamed towards the Salamander.

Meanwhile, a typhoon composed of water burst from the ground and smashed into the Salamander, effectively extinguishing it in an explosion of steam.

"I guess I should have saw that coming," Max groaned as his bey emerged from the steam wobbling.

"Now!" cried Ellie as her bey sent a smashing hit to Swordsman, sending it flying back before the spiral attack from Capricorn came in and blasted Swordsman into a tree, creating an explosion.

"Good job my comrades," congratulated Vincent.

"It's three strikes you're out! Not two!" interrupted Max as Swordsman reemerged from the smoke of the last attack, still going on strong.

"What?" gasped Vincent. "How did-"

"I survive," Max finished for him with a goofy smile. "It's called believing!" He threw his hand forward and declared, "Swordsman! Flame Sword Slash!"

The Red Knight rushed forward with its blade high ready to strike, and this time, Max had a plan.

"Not so fast!" roared Ellie as she threw her arm up. "Aquario! Grand Rip Tide!"

The typhoon burst up again and spun towards the Knight, but it wasn't going to win this time.

"Let's heat this up Swordsman!" declared Max as the Knight held its sword in front of him and generated a bright and powerful burst of flames from its sword. As the water typhoon came upon him, the searing hot flames began evaporating the water and in turn were protecting the Knight.

"Say what?" cried Ellie in shock.

"Do you know how rain comes to be?" taunted Max. "The sun evaporates water from the sea, lakes and damns which then goes up into the sky and turns into clouds! It then comes down and goes back into the sea! Then the process happens again! I just used science to beat your typhoon!" He grinned cheerfully before realizing what he just said. "Man, I must be losing my touch. I sound like Kenny. That can't be a good sign."

"This doesn't change anything!" snapped Tim. "I shall crush you! Power up Capricorn! Grand Crush Blast!"

The red goat reappeared and charged forward with its horns creating a ball of red energy that looked extremely deadly.

"No you won't!" declared Max as his crest began to glow again. "Because I have the power of agility!"

"What the hell are you talking about!" demanded Tim.

"This!" exclaimed Max as his bey dodged out of the way of the attack and Capricorn was now heading straight for a tree. The goat was moving too fast to change course and crashed into the tree with a bang!

"No!" Tim roared in anger. "How dare you?"

"Me," Max said innocently. "I did nothing. You were the one that sent your bey plowing into a tree. Speaking of which!"

Tim let a cry of horror as the tree began to crack and fall. "Run Capricorn!" he cried desperately.

The bey raced away, barely escaping the tree only for the Red Knight to be waiting with his sword resting on his shoulder.

"And the Japan Samurai baseball team win the game!" cheered Max as the Knight used its blade to smash Capricorn into the air like a ball. "And it's out of the ball park!"

Everyone watched as Capricorn began to fall to the ground and the Knight leapt up into the air and used its sword to smash it down with a crash. Tim let out a cry of pain before spitting up some blood. He used his hand to cover his mouth as he vomited some more blood. Then he collapsed to the ground and lost conscious as his bey came to a stop.

"Now get that Aquario!" ordered Max as he pointed to the opposing bey.

Ellie gasped before she moved her bey to a defensive position. "Not so fast!"

"Even less faster!" returned Max as his bey changed plans and aimed its sword like a gun. "Flame Spiral!"

A spiraling stream of fire shot from the blade and smashed into Aquario, knocking it up into the air.

"Oh no," stuttered Ellie as she realized what was happening.

"One more time Swordsman!" commanded Max. "Flame Sword Slash!"

The Red Knight launched itself into the air and used its blade to smash Aquario into the ground in a similar manner as it did with Capricorn. Immediately as the bey landed, it stopped and Ellie let out a small cry when blood leaked from her nose and ears. She gave a sorry look to Vincent before falling down like her other defeated teammates.

Vincent looked at his fellow Guardians in horror and looked to Max with extreme anger in his eyes.

"You son of a bitch!" he roared. "I will spare you no pain! I won't be purifying you when I'm done, I'm going to kill you!"

"You'll have to beat me first," Max retorted. "And don't think that'll happen anytime soon."

"We'll see!" snapped Vincent as his bey began to power itself up by glowing white. "Special Move! Grand Brave!"

A shining knight wearing silver Roman armor emerged from the light with a shield and sword.

"So what?" Max cried, trying to sound less nervous then he was. He knew how powerful Gravity Destroyer was, and he was hoping this Grand Destroyer was just a cheap knock off and nothing like the real thing.

"My Destroyer has been given the power to use the same abilities as the real Destroyer!" exclaimed Vincent. "Jus watch!"

The Roman Knight's weapons turned into a bow and a quiver full of arrows. Max gulped.

"Destroy him Destroyer!" ordered Vincent as the Roman Knight drew a dozen arrows and launched them from his bow, all heading for Swordsman.

"Run Swordsman!" cried Max as his bey began to move about in different directions to avoid the barrage of arrows.

"You can run but you can't hide!" taunted Vincent crazily as one of the arrows finally clipped Swordsman, sending it spiraling out of control.

The only thing Max could say was, "Crap."

"Finish him off Destroyer!" Vincent ordered maliciously as the remainder of arrows all struck Swordsman.

"You're a cheat," Max stated.

Vincent growled in response. "Excuse me?"

"You a cheat," replied Max. "You made your goons fight me first and now you're going to battle me without restarting. If that's not cheating I don't know what is!"

"ENOUGH!" erupted Vincent as his body began to glow white and his eyes did the same. His veins began popping out and his teeth seemed to grow sharp like fangs. "I'M GOING TO TORTURE YOU TO DEATH!"

"That's your personal opinion," rebuffed Max, not all that fazed by Vincent's out burst. He was just buying time while his Swordsman got some of its power back. "An incorrect opinion!"

Vincent let out a high-pitched screech of anger mixed with insanity.

"And that's my cue!" interrupted Max as his bey shot forward. "Flame Sword Slash!"

The Red Knight burst from its bey and held its flaming sword ready to attack Destroyer.

"Not on my watch!" roared Vincent. "Special Move! Grand Excalibur!"

Max's eyes widened. "No way?"

"My Queen has given my bey the ability to copy even Gravity Destroyer's greatest move!" Vincent declared viciously.

The Roman Knight drew out its sword, which contained a crystal in the blade, which powered it up.

"Burn them to ashes Swordsman!" declared Max as he fist pumped the air.

"Obliterate them Destroyer!" commanded Vincent as he threw his arm out.

The two Knights clashed with their swords. It created an explosion of both light and flames.

"GO!" both bladers shouted as their two beasts continued to clash with their swords.

However, Excalibur proved too much and it broke the Red Knight's sword. The Roman Knight then plunged its sword into the opposing Knight's chest, shattering it.

"Shit," Max cursed.

"Now finish him off!" exclaimed Vincent malevolently. "Grand Excalibur again!"

The Roman Knight charged forward and held its blade up ready to strike Swordsman.

"Hold it Swordsman!" Max called out as he activated his crest and hoped for the best.

"DIE!" laughed Vincent as Excalibur came down onto Swordsman with a crash and created an explosion. The leader of the Guardians grinned devilishly. "Good bye Prince of Fire."

"Have you hard the old saying it ain't over till it's over?" asked Max as the smoke cleared, revealing Swordsman still spinning fine even though Excalibur was still toppling it.

Vincent gasped. "Impossible!"

"Nothing's impossible!" answered Max. "Time for revenge! Salamander Fury!"

The fiery serpent burst from its bey and literally devoured Excalibur, leaving Destroyer without its secret weapon.

"No way!" protested Vincent angrily.

"They say revenge is a dish best served cold!" commented Max. "I like to think it's a dish best served hot! Show them Salamander!"

The fiery spirit flew up into the air, roared before plowing down into Destroyer with a bang and creating an explosion. The Roman Knight shattered almost immediately while Vincent's bey was bashed into the ground with cracks and broken pieces.

Vincent fell to his knees in horror as Max recalled his bey and declared, "Now it's over!"

"NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!" screamed Vincent. "THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!"

"But it is," Max returned.

As blood began to leak from Vincent's mouth, he reached into his jacket and pulled out a detonator of some kind. "I may have lost, but I shall deliver the Queen what she wants."

"Huh?" said Max, completely confused at his defeated opponent's words.

"Goodbye," Vincent coughed as he fell to the ground but managed to set off the detonator. It rolled for a few moments before beeping and then exploding. This appeared to set off a chain reaction.

Max could only watch as the ground began to shake and rip apart. It was like a miniature earthquake.

"Better run!" cried Max as he began to dash away, but a large crack appeared all around him, blocking his way. "Not good."

That was when the ground he stood on crumbled away and he fell towards a bright light.

"CRAP!" he screamed as he fell into the light and it devoured him.

* * *

><p>Simon meanwhile, was still running through the woods desperately searching for the Queen. That was when he heard someone screaming crap, and could tell who it was.<p>

"Max…" he said quietly. "No…"

"Mwahaha," laughed a voice.

Simon spun around. "Who's there?" he demanded.

"The one you're looking for," replied the voice of the Queen.

Simon watched as a faint light appeared in the distance and he walked towards it. As he came closer, he could see a large throne composed of tree stumps, vines and thorns. Siting at the top was the Queen herself with an evil grin. The light Simon had been following then faded.

"I finally found you," Simon stated. "And I'm going to beat you! Let's battle!"

The Queen laughed. "Battle? So soon? Oh darling, shouldn't we catch up? How's your friend Max been doing lately?"

Simon growled in response. "How dare you bad mouth my friend?"

The Queen just snickered again. "Why do you wish to beat me?" she asked innocently, changing the subject as well. "I am the goddess of justice and light. I protect people and purify the darkness."

"Your so called _purifying_," Simon retorted coldly. "Involves turning people into your obedient slaves!"

"An innocent side effect," the Queen replied.

"That's no side effect!" snapped Simon. "You just want your own personal army! And you use chaos powers to do it! You claim to be good, yet chaos is bad!"

"Chaos is not evil!" rebuffed the Queen as she slammed her hand down onto her armrest. "What has order ever done for the world? Sure, law and order may seem to work but it doesn't. Your so-called justice system fails to put criminals away. It fails to scare anyone! Look how many prisoners the world has! Order never stopped crime, injustice or terrorism! But with chaos, we can control evil! That is the only true path to peace!"

"You're crazy!" was the only thing Simon could say.

"I like you Simon," giggled the Queen. "You're so strong and confident. I see there is no convincing you. But I see you as the most worthy to be my king."

Simon stepped back in confusion. "What?"

"I want to marry you," continued the Queen. "Be my soul mate and we can rule together!"

"Not if the world was going to end!" Simon retorted.

"Oh I knew you wouldn't see it my way," the Queen inferred. "But I'll humble you by defeating you in battle. I shall purify your soul and make you my king."

"Never!" Simon stated firmly. "I shall beat you and free everyone!" He took out his launcher and attached Gryphos. "Bring it bitch!"

"Before that," the Queen said. "Let's introduce our special guest." She held her hand out and the ground began to crack open. From it emerged a coffin composed of roots. It then opened up to reveal Max, trapped and pinned down by glowing purple chains.

He let out a scream as the chains pulsed with chaos energy.

"What are you doing to him?" demanded Simon.

"He has been condemned to death for defeating my Guardians," the Queen explained. "His order energy is being sucked from his body along with his life energy. In addition, his sacrifice will give all of my servants the youth they need to live for a thousand years more."

"What?"

"As long as I sacrifice someone every thousand years," said the Queen. "Me and my pawns will not age. If I win, you'll be my lover for all eternity."

"Enough!" shouted Simon. "Let's just battle so I can beat you and free everyone!"

"Very well," the Queen responded as she stood up from her throne and it sunk into the ground. Then, the bright light from before came down from the sky and expanded to create a large bey arena.

"Nice trick," Simon grunted.

The Queen ignored him. "Before we start, I think it'll be best if I reveal to you my identity." Simon watched as the Queen pulled her hood down, revealing none other then Linh.

"Linh?" gasped Simon. "You're the Queen?"

Linh grinned. "Sound so surprised!"

"You're such a quiet person," noted Simon. "You were the last person I would have thought of to do something like this."

"What can I say," answered Linh with a shrug. "I like being a bad girl. So much better then a shy little girl. I always wanted to be a queen. Growing up, the people in books were my best friends. Being so shy, I couldn't make many real ones. And when my father physically abused me at age twelve, well, let's just say I wouldn't be getting a boy friend any time soon. But now that I have chaos, I can have all the friends I want! And my father will be receiving a very special present on his next birthday. It's going to be a killer."

'It seems as though the chaos energy brings out the darker side of a person,' thought Simon. 'But it's almost more then that. Linh seemed too shy to have another side this dark and evil. Does chaos powers also amplify malice?'

"But enough talking!" interrupted Linh as she pulled out a white string launcher and held up Tempest Archangel.

"Let me guess," said Simon. "It's going to change into a chaos form."

"Oh Simon," Linh laughed. "You're my perfect match. Your smart as well." She blew him a kiss before continuing. "And yes, my bey has a bit of a darker scheme then you'd think. But for every light, there's a shadow."

Dark energy coiled around Archangel, transforming its 'tempest' fusion wheel into a black one with two horn-like blades on each side.

"Allow me to introduce you to Maleficent Archangel," grinned Linh.

"Isn't Maleficent the name of that witch in Sleeping Beauty?" observed Simon.

"Correct," answered Linh. "And you'll see soon enough that my life is a fairytale, and the good guy always wins! Always!"

"Just because you think you're the good guy doesn't mean you are!" retorted Simon as he held his launcher ready. "I won't let my friends sacrifices be in vain! I will win!"

As Linh connected her bey, a griffon humanoid spirit named Griff appeared beside Simon.

"Be careful," he warned to Simon. "I can sense a strong spirit aura coming from Linh."

Simon nodded as the spirit vanished. "I'll be fine."

"Three!" cried Linh.

"Two!" added Simon.

"One!" they both cried.

"Let It Rip!"

Gryphos and Archangel shot from their launchers and landed in the arena of light.

'Okay,' Simon thought. 'Should I take the first attack, or should I wait and she what she does?'

"Archangel!" cried Linh as she threw her hand into the air. "Special Move!"

"A special move already?" questioned Simon, puzzled.

Linh ignored him and continued. "Chapter 1: Wonderland!"

"Huh?"

Linh pointed to the ground, and Simon gasped as a hole opened up below them and he, the "Queen," and the arena fell down it. A light then overwhelmed them and when it subsides, they stood in a forest, yet this one was different from the one they were just in.

"Where are we?" asked Simon.

"Wonderland," answered Linh. "Where else?"

'This is getting stranger by the minute,' thought Simon. 'Better get on the offensive.'

"Special Move!" he cried. "Burst Blast!"

Gryphos went up in flames as it sped towards Archangel, and a Griffin/Dragon hybrid appeared above it and soared forward.

Linh waved her finger at Simon. "This cannot go through! What shall I do?" She tapped her chin and thought before deciding with, "I know! Special Move! Drink Me!"

The witch Maleficent emerged from her bey holding a small bottle with the label _Drink Me _on it. She threw it at Gryphos' bey beast and the bottle vanished in it.

"What was the point of that?" asked Simon.

"This," grinned Linh as the Gryphos bey beast began to shrink. Simon gasped in shock as his mighty bey spirit was reduced to the size of a figurine.

"Counterattack Archangel!" commanded Linh as Maleficent conjured a ball of dark green energy and threw it at the tiny bey beast, the attack shattering it and blasting Gryphos all over the place.

"No way am I going to lose to a trick like that!" Simon complained. "Burst Blast again Gryphos!"

The griffin/dragon rose once again and sent a fireball towards Maleficent, which effortlessly dodged to the side.

"Time for round two!" giggled Linh. "Anyways, Special Move! Eat me!"

Maleficent conjured up a cake with _Eat Me_ written on it in icing. She threw it at the griffin/dragon, which suddenly began to grow from it.

"Was your strategy to get crushed by a large bey spirit?" cheered Simon to the Queen.

"Take a closer look!" snorted Linh. Simon looked and gasped when he realized his bey beats was getting larger and FATTER from the cake.

"Crap!" cursed Simon. "He's too fat to move!"

"Maleficent!" called out Linh. "Razor Nail Blade!"

The dark witch laughed as she ran forward and used her sharp nails to slash the fat bey spirit, shattering it again and sending Gryphos spinning out of control.

'Goddammit,' Simon thought in frustration. 'I'm getting my butt kicked.'

"One more time!" he roared as he threw his arm out. "Burst Blast!"

His bey was lit alight with fire and charged towards Archangel, the attack knocking the bey away.

"Not bad," commented Linh. "But I can do so much better then that! Special Move! Pool of Tears!"

Simon looked up at the sky, which went grey, and lightning flashed. Quickly, rain began pouring down onto the arena and the rest of the woods. The water put out the flames that were powering up Gryphos and was beginning to fill the arena with water. Strangely, neither Linh nor her bey seemed to be getting wet.

The rain left as quickly as it had come, but the damage had been done. The arena had been flooded with water, and Gryphos was forced to be spinning right on the edge of it to keep safe.

This was completely different for Archangel, which was amazingly spinning on the surface of the water.

"How are you doing that?" Simon questioned.

"This is Wonderland," Linh stated as she spread her arms out. "A place where the impossible is possible."

Simon frowned. 'This isn't good,' he thought. 'If Gryphos falls into the water he's dead. How am I supposed to fight?'

"Ready Simon?" taunted Linh. "Special Move! Loch Ness Fury!"

The water began to morph and transformed into a large serpentine monster similar in shape to the famous Loch Ness Monster.

"I always hated that myth," Simon muttered under his breath as the Water Monster let out a vicious roar.

"Destroy him!" exclaimed Linh as the monster lunged forward at Gryphos.

A thought struck Simon, and he quickly formed a plan in his mind.

"Fly Gryphos!" he declared and his bey leapt into the air, dodging the incoming attack in the process. "Special Move! Wingtip Scorcher!"

Gryphos set itself on fire as it roared downwards towards the Loch Ness monster. It shot a water stream towards the fiery bey, but it was hot enough to evaporate it into steam and kept on going. It smashed right through the monster and sunk into the beast's belly.

"Was a kamikaze attack your plan?" mused Linh with a cold laugh.

"No," answered Simon. "This was! Special Move Gryphos! Burst Blast!"

Linh gasped as Gryphos exploded into flames, the heat being enough to overwhelm and evaporate the entire Loch Ness beast until it was nothing but steam.

Gryphos then landed back in the arena still spinning at full power.

Linh smirked and clapped. "Very good," she complimented. "You beat my Wonderland combo. But the next stage will not be so easy."

Simon answered fiercely with, "Bring it on!"

"Very well!" retorted Linh. "Let the second stage begin! Special Move! Chapter 2: A Fairy's Tale!"

She proceeded to laugh at the pun while a ring of pink magic dust transformed the scenery. It was another forest but with trees with faces and more animals hopping around.

"Now then!" chuckled Linh. "Special Move! Crystal Slash!"

Two crystal slippers appeared in front of Maleficent, and she picked them up. Suddenly, they transformed into two crystal swords.

"Aw nuts," Simon cursed.

"Strike him down Maleficent!" commanded Linh as the witch ran forward and slashed Gryphos with the first sword before Simon could react. The bey was sent flying into the air, where Maleficent used the second sword to smash it back into the arena.

Simon held his arm up to block the recoil from the attack before deciding to go on the offensive.

"Counterattack Gryphos!" he cried as his bey sped forward and clashed with Archangel. They two beys created a storm of sparks as they fought against each other. Neither was able to get one up on the other however.

Linh laughed. "Pathetic! I'll show you real power! Archangel! Special Move! Poison Apple!"

As the griffin/dragon hybrid appeared to face the dark witch Maleficent, a large red apple from the fairytale Snow White appeared. It then unraveled like a chain and wrapped around the griffin/dragon, eventually trapping and weakening it.

"This sucks," groaned Simon.

"Now attack Maleficent!" exclaimed Linh as she threw her arm up. "Dagger of the Heart!"

Maleficent transforms into a large vicious looking black dagger with a green heart on the handle. The dagger then shoots forward with the blade in front, ready to stab its opponent.

'Oh no!' Simon panicked in though. 'Gryphos is trapped in that apple or whatever it is and that attack is going to do some serious damage! But I can't move! Gryphos is completely trapped!"

Linh laughed malevolently as the dagger struck the griffon/dragon in the chest, shattering it with a bang. But the weapon didn't stop there. It kept going and slashed Gryphos, the attack sending it spiraling all over the place and off course.

"Crap," groaned Simon at the sight.

"Something wrong?" taunted Linh. "Or do you now realize who futile it is to resist the grand power of the Queen? Maybe you should give up."

"I'm far from giving up!" rebuffed Simon. "Gryphos! Burst Blast!"

The dragon bey went up in flames again and began to circle the arena. When it had powered up, it streamed towards Archangel.

"Well if it isn't burst blast again," mocked Linh. "Haven't we seen this before? This is starting to get boring! So let's make things interesting!" She threw her arm out and declared, "Special Move! Mirror, Mirror on the Wall!"

Simon raised an eyebrow in confusion, but then gasped as a large mirror rose from the arena and blocked Gryphos' attack.

The Gryphos blader was a bit thrown off, but regained his composure and fist pumped the air in front of him.

"Push through that mirror Gryphos! Burst Blast!" he commanded and his bey shot forward and smashed into the mirror.

Simon let out a cheer, but was interrupted by Linh laughing.

"You idiot!" she mocked. "You just attacked the magic mirror! It deflects your attack right back at you!"

Simon let out a cry of shock when he saw Gryphos was thrown back from its own attack as the mirror shards fell to the ground.

Linh pointed at her bey. "I'm not done yet!" she snorted. "Special Move! Mirror Force!"

Simon watched in shock as Archangel let out white fairy dust that sparkled onto the broken pieces of the mirror. The magic then animated the shards and brought them to life. They flew around for a bit before coming together and forming a large golem composed of glass.

"I know for sure that's not from a fairytale!" complained Simon. "So I find that a bit unfair!"

"Was life ever fair?" returned Linh. "No! It never was! Go Glass Golem! Pound his pathetic bey into the light!"

"Run Gryphos!" cried Simon and his bey began to spin away from the Golem.

"You can't run from your defeat!" Linh roared as the Golem ran forward and struck Gryphos, sending it flying into the air.

Simon thought, 'Time to take advantage of the situation.'

"Special Move!" he exclaimed. "Wingtip Scorcher! Burn them away Gryphos!"

The griffon/dragon remerged once again and roared. Its body caught fire and soared downwards towards the Glass Golem.

"Not on my watch!" hissed Linh. "Special Move! Mirror Guard!"

Parts of the Glass Golem began to multiply and the spare pieces formed a shield for the monster.

"Break through it Gryphos!" ordered Simon as the flaming dragon came down onto it, creating an explosion.

"Hold tight Glass Golem!" called out Linh. It seemed to help, because as the shield broke, the attack rebounded onto the dragon and blasted it back into the air.

"No way am I getting beaten in a battle like this!" cried Simon. "Gryphos! Strike again from the sky! Skydiving Blaze Strike!"

The bey once again erupted into flames and flew down towards the Glass Golem much faster this time. But Linh was ready.

She declared, "Special Move! Glass Frontier!"

The Glass Golem's hand began to reform and transformed into an axe, which it swung to intercept the incoming attack from Gryphos.

Simon had no time to react and his bey was smashed into the arena with a crash.

"Is that all you got?" questioned Simon fiercely as his bey emerged still spinning although it was now starting to wobble.

"You survived," giggled Linh. "Impressive. But My Glass Golem's onslaught has only just begun! Special Move! Glass Arsenal!"

Simon watched in horror as the Golem's axe hand transformed into a sword while its other hand became a chainsaw, which roared to life.

"Rip them both apart my glorious Golem!" Linh snarled as her servant brought its sword down on Gryphos.

"Run away Gryphos!" was all Simon could say as his bey sped away from the enemy, barely avoiding the incoming attack.

"Running scared I see?" chuckled Linh maliciously. "Nice try! But my Golem is too fast to be overcome by tactics such as those!"

The Glass Golem plunged its chainsaw arm into the center of the arena, causing it to crack all over. One of those cracks opened up on Gryphos and trapped the bey, leaving it wide open.

"Stomp him flat my Golem!" ordered Linh as the bey spirit composed of shards lifted its foot and brought it down on Gryphos with a sickening crunch!

Simon scrunched his fists up and yelled, "Fire it up Gryphos!"

There was an explosion of fire and it blasted off the Golem's foot, knocking it off balance. That was when Gryphos soared into the air and smashed into the Golem's chest, causing it the shatter along with the rest of the spirit.

Linh watched as her bey beast fell to the ground with a crash while Gryphos landed safely in the arena.

The so-called "Queen" was unfazed by this development. She seemed happy in fact. Simon didn't like it.

"Why are you smiling?" he asked.

"I wanted to fight someone who could push me to my limit," she loafed. "That way I get to use my new powers fully."

"If I have to beat your best stuff then bring it!" Simon challenged.

"Good," grinned Linh. "Because it's going to be a world of chaos! She threw her arms out as shadow like aura began to radiate from her. It then changed to light before fading. She then shouted, "Special Move! Final Chapter: Happily Ever After!"

As she chanted those words, the scenery changed around them once again for the final time. Now it was a void of white and gold energies all circling around them.

"The final stand begins," mused Linh gruesomely. "Prepare to become my king Simon."

"Me and Gryphos will bust our way through and save the academy!" returned Simon.

"Very well," snickered Linh as she cracked her fingers one by one. "But first, let me freshen up."

Simon gave the 'Queen' a look of confusion. "Freshen up?" he questioned.

"Just watch," Linh snarled as she suddenly become empowered with purple energy and Max let out a high-pitched scream from his coffin.

"What are you doing to him?" demanded Simon angrily.

"I'm taking his order and life energy and converting it into chaos energy for me," Linh replied calmly. "He's getting what he deserves for taking out my Guardians."

"You're crazy!" retorted Simon.

"HELP ME!" Max screamed as Linh absorbed more of the life and order energy from his body. He squirmed and fought against the chains, but it was no use.

"Hush little Max," taunted Linh. "It will all be over soon. Once I win, your life will be given to grant my followers and I immortality for a thousand years. You'll be dead, and will rot in hell for all eternity!"

She took some more energy while laughing, and also pulled the coffin up so Simon could watch his friend suffer more easily.

"YOU FUCKEN BITCH!" Max roared as his eyes went pitch black. "WHEN I GET FREE I'M GOING TO FUCKING MURDER YOU! I'M GOING TO TORTURE YOU FOR A MONTH AND MAKE YOU SCREAM TILL YOUR VOICE GIVES OUT! THEN I'LL MAKE YOU CRY IN PAIN UNTIL YOU CAN CRY NO LONGER! THEN I'LL TAKE YOUR BEY AND USE TO PULL YOUR FUCKEN HEART FROM YOUR FUCKEN CHEST!"

'Max?' thought Simon in shock. 'He's going all 'evil' again.'

Max let out another scream of anger and this created a red energy blast that smashed into Linh, causing her to stumble back. She was stunned at first and her lip began to bleed. She wiped it away and sent a death stare the Prince of Fire's way.

"You'll pay for that!" she erupted as she took more energy from Max, this time causing him to pass out.

"Max! No!" cried Simon.

"Let's finish this!" declared Linh as she returned her attention to the battle. "Special Move! Fairytale Whip!"

"Huh?"

From the ground behind Linh burst a large root, which grew to form a large beanstalk shaped like a whip.

"Crap," Simon cursed as the large weapon came crashing down onto the entire arena, leaving no escape for Gryphos.

When the whip retreated back into the ground, Linh burst into laughter.

"It appears you've lost," she hissed.

"Not yet," Simon rebuffed as his bey emerged from a crater still spinning but barely.

"With that much spin left?" laughed Linh. "Ha! I don't even need to attack to beat you! You'll sleep out in about another minute! Why don't you give up?"

Simon narrowed his eyes. "No way am I giving up!" He looked at his opponent fiercely. "I don't give in till my bey comes to a stop! I'm not afraid of you or your mystic powers! So you can go ahead and throw everything you got against me! Because I'll throw it back!"

He unzipped his vest and threw it off before rolling up the sleeves of his grey shirt.

"I'll take everything I have!" he roared. "All my power and put it all into one attack! Soar Gryphos!" His bey ran to the edge of the arena and launched itself into the air.

"Fine!" snarled Linh. "Amuse me!"

Simon pointed to the sky and exclaimed, "Gryphos: Descend! Special Move! Inferno Destruction Ultimatum!"

Gryphos shot down towards Archangel while alight in flames like a meteor. It smashed into the top of Archangel and created an explosion that sent Gryphos flying up again.

Linh laughed. "Your attack failed!"

"Guess again!" Simon retorted.

Linh looked at her bey and gasped. It was wobbling from the last attack.

Simon held his hand up in the air. "Gryphos: Descend! Special Move! Turbo Inferno Destruction Ultimatum!"

Gryphos blasted into a supernova of flames and shot down towards Archangel.

"Go Gryphos!" roared Simon as his bey's spirit emerged and roared before flying downwards and smashing into Archangel, creating an explosion that began to blast apart the arena.

Linh let out a roar of anger as her bey began to wobble even more and was singed, burnt and cracked from the last attack.

"YOU'LL PAY DEARLY FOR THAT!" she snapped.

"LET'S END THIS BATTLE NOW!" retaliated Simon.

"DARK MOVE!" exclaimed Linh as she generated a dark energy ball and threw it at her bey. "HAPPILY EVER ARMAGEDDON!"

Archangel exploded with purple energy which created an entire army of fairytale spirits including: Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Cinderella, The Big Bad Wolf, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Jack from Jack and Beanstalk and every other mythical and fairytale character in existence. They all had more ferocious and grotesque appearances however.

Simon took a deep breath. 'I need to put everything I have into one more attack in order to defeat Archangel and her fairytale army,' he thought.

"We'll lend you our power," Griff stated as the spirit appeared beside Simon.

"That's right," added Drake, the humanoid dragon spirit as he appeared on the other side of Simon.

Simon nodded and held his hand out, while the spirits did the same and placed theirs on his. His hand began to glow red and it created a red void behind him of which Griff and Drake emerged in their true forms: a Griffon and a Dragon respectively.

In front of Simon flashed an order crest, and the power surged within him.

"ORDER MOVE!" he roared. "SPIRIT DESCENSION!"

The Griffon and Dragon merged together to create a red spiral blast that shot forward.

At the same time, all of Linh's fairytale characters fused together to create a purple spiral blast that flew to clash with the opposing force.

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" both bladers shouted as the spirals smashed into each other, creating a powerful energy explosion that pushed both Linh and Simon back.

"Blast them apart Gryphos!" ordered Simon.

"Destroy them all Archangel!" commanded Linh.

Both beys sped forward and clashed in the center of the energy blast, sending sparks flying all over. Archangel managed to push Gryphos back but it recovered quickly and reversed the situation.

Linh began to glow white again and she unleashed that to boost her bey. "I WILL HAVE MY HAPPY EVER AFTER!"

"NOT TODAY!" retorted Simon as he glowed red and utilized that power to energize his own bey.

This sudden power boost created a second explosion and the Griffon/Dragon appeared to face the Witch Maleficent. She sent a dark green energy blast to attack, while the opposing bey beast roared and unleashed a stream of flames. The two attacks clashed, creating a third explosion that engulfed both bladers and shattered the spirits.

The blast turned white and both Simon and Linh pushed forward to reach their beys, which were still clashing at full velocity.

"GRYPHOS!" exclaimed Simon.

"ARCHANGEL!" screamed Linh.

Their two beys unleashed a final attack while Linh and Simon literally punched each other in the chests just as their beys were forced back from the power levels and created a final explosion that destroyed the arena and sent both bladers flying back.

And when the dust settled, both beys spun for a little while before Archangel came to a stop, followed by Gryphos a second later. Simon had won.

* * *

><p><strong>Next Time – Chaotic Carnage!<strong>

**The academy recovers from the attack by Linh as the "Queen" while Max continues dealing with his growing dark emotions. Things only get worse when a mysterious disease begins to plague the academy and turns students into mindless zombies! Now the school falls into a zombie apocalypse with the gang forced to fight for survival! Another chaos student is at it again, and only Blaze can save the day…or be used a sacrifice to unleash the plague all over the world and cause "total carnage!" **

**(WARNING: Due to the scale of this next chapter, it may come out in two halves like the previous two chapters did). **

**And if I can get out of this phase I'm stuck in where I have to rewrite a chapter heaps of times to get it right, we may finally get chapters a bit more quickly. Schools starting up again soon, so hopefully I can finish "Chaotic Carnage" before that happens! **

**I guess that's all I have to say and tell me what you thought of the chapter! ****PLEASE REVIEW/FAVORITE/FOLLOW! **


	40. Chapter 40: Hint of Darkness

**Hello everyone! Welcome to the 40****th**** chapter of this epic story! I know, I know, it's been like five weeks hasn't it? Damn, school is so annoying. I have to adjust to new classes and new people and today I spent two hours out in my backyard working on my art project. It involves making art with nature and I was wracking my brains for ideas. My brain finally had a breakthrough. I HATE SCHOOL SO MUCH! **

**But another problem is, is that I'm struggling to write things the way I want in one shot. I rewrote the first scene your about to read 15 times! YES 15 TIMES! 15 FRICKIN TIMES! You read that properly and it isn't a typo. I just couldn't get that one scene the way I wanted it. I wrote about five then scrapped the idea altogether and rewrote it completely different. Finally, I had the fourteenth and fifteenth rewrite to choose from. I went with the fifteenth one as I felt the fourteenth was too long and the fourteenth had a bit more depth in it as well. **

**But you probably all really want to the read the chapter now. Once again, because the chapter ended up being like 15,000 words I'm splitting it into two chapters. So, when you think about it you're kind of getting two chapters released pretty close together. So this is kind of going to end in a bit of a cliffhanger so sorry to those who hate cliffhangers but I didn't want to post a ginormous chapter because it's hard to read through then. **

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><p><strong>Now for the review responses! <strong>

**AKA99: **Irony indeed.

**Gingercookiessnaps: **Glad to know you thought the previous chapter was amazing and I'm also happy you believe this story is at a high standard. As for being jealous at my writing, don't be. I still have a long way to go and I think your writing is just as awesome as mine! I'm sure one day you'll be able to write a story which gathers as many readers as mine. As for dA, I'll definitely ask you for help once I get started (or if I ever do). I'll definitely keep writing!

**Indestructible Black Rose: **Hope you find out why you can't log in. Similar thing happened to me once. Took a week before I could finally go back in. It was really annoying. Anyway, I was going for an intense and crazy battle. And yes, Max has yet another outburst. But it isn't necessarily in his control, as we'll find out later. Happy to know you were pumped for this chapter and zombies are pretty badass aren't they?

**Alpha Dragonis: **Max did let his emotions get to him. Or did he? That's something we'll find out a bit later and explore a bit more thoroughly in this chapter.

**Lemon Quartz: **Glad you'll be reviewing again! Yay! Happy to know you enjoyed Linh and Simon's battle and the chapter and yeah, there were a lot of fairytale references in the last chapter. Into the Woods the movie and musical was what inspired me for that chapter.

**AlchemistWarriorDiamondDust: **This chapter will be interesting and thanks for thinking I did a good job as well!

**Kawaiino Tenshi Kiki: **Epic! A great describing word! Happy to know you've started on Max and that Zyro's hair suits better. Maybe the reason my drawings of Max all looked bad was because of the hair design. I think I'll redraw him with Zyro's hair. Yep, the Purge is on the move all right. The schemes of Zygor are getting much worse and we'll dig deeper soon enough. Yep, zombie apocalypse. I say, 'why not?'

**Turtleswift11: **Thanks for thinking of the last chapter as great and Simon will be okay. As for Max…well, his situation isn't going to get better any time soon.

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><p><strong>Now for the chapter. Once again, sorry that it came out so late. But it's just one of those things that can't be helped. I like to think of like as a game of baseball and it occasionally throws you curve balls. Well I've been getting a LOT of curve balls lately. But yeah, you'll be getting the next chapter in a week which will be the second part of this one. So no bey battles this chapter, but an actually fight will be seen this chapter. Hope you all enjoy the chapter that will give us a 'hint of darkness.' <strong>

**Now, time to see the gang face a zombie invasion (or at the very least the first part of it). Hope you all enjoy this and remember to ****PLEASE REVIEW WHEN YOU'RE DONE!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 40: Hint of Darkness<strong>

Max let out a groan as he opened his eyes. He was lying on the ground in what seemed to be an old abandoned building. He stood up and immediately felt a sharp pain grow through his chest. He gritted his teeth and pulled his jacket off. He then pulled up his black shirt to reveal burn marks all over his chest.

"What the heck?" he questioned out loud. He wracked his brain for an answer and he remembered his 'dark' outburst from when he was captured by Linh, the so-called "Queen." He also recalled how she had been using these 'chaos' empowered chains to drain his energy from his body. Max presumed the chains were responsible for the burns on his chest.

He pulled his shirt back down and put his red jacket back on. He looked around for a moment and made his way to one of the boarded up windows. He tried pushing the board through but it was hopeless. He took a step back and cracked his knuckles. He concentrated hard and generated an orb of red energy. He grinned pleasingly to himself before throwing the orb at the window, blowing the board into dust.

"Man," the Prince of Fire commented. "Having superpowers never felt better."

CRACK!

Max looked towards the window and gasped, his blast had been stronger then he had predicted. It had put a crack all around the windowsill and was slowly getting larger and spreading to the walls and roof.

"Better run!" shouted Max to himself as he charged towards the door as the ceiling began to collapse and cave in. As he neared the door to the stairwell, he generated a glove of red energy around his left fist and punched through the door. He leapt into the stairwell just as the room he had been in only seconds ago fell in completely. Max slid down the wall and sat down on one of the steps. He sighed with relief and wiped some sweet from his forehead.

"Now to figure out where I am," Max said before standing up and slowly making his way down the long flight of stairs. Once he came to the bottom, he could see that the room including a desk with a sign above it that said in faded letters 'reception'. He assumed he was in a abandoned hotel.

He walked over to the boarded up doors and struck it with a palm hand backed up with order energy. The force was enough the break the board in two without also causing the room to break apart. He pushed the doors opened and exited into the time of dusk. But what he saw he could never had expected. The whole city was in ruin. Buildings all over as far as the eye could see were either destroyed or on fire. Dead bodies littered the ground and the stench of death reeked through the air.

"Oh my god," panicked Max, taking a step back in shock. "What the hell happened? How did…what…?"

He trailed off when he heard footsteps and voices. He ducked behind a rusty and knocked over trashcan for cover. He heard a couple of people come near. He heard some whispers.

"The hotel has been broken into," one of the voices said.

"We can hide on any of the floors," answered another voice.

"We cannot. He will find us not matter what we do. Running is the best option. If he finds us in there there we'll be trapped."

"Agreed."

Max listened as the four people ran off. He then leapt out from his behind his hiding place and tackled one of them, a man, to the ground. Before he could say something or scream, Max placed his hand over his mouth and muffled his cries.

"Who are you? Where am I?" demanded Max to the man as he examined him. He appeared to be in his late fifties and wore an old green trench coat with black pants. He was barefoot and had short brown hair with matching brown eyes.

Before Max removed his hand to allow the man to speak he told him, "Don't you dare scream."

The man nodded and Max removed his hand.

"I'm Bruce," explained the Man. "And you're in Metal Bey City."

Max's eyes widened in shock as he stood up and let Bruce go, who brushed himself off.

"This can't be," Max stated in dread. "What in the world happened?"

"What do you think happened?" replied Bruce. "The war happened. We lost. And it's all because that so-called hero fell from grace."

"Hero," muttered Max. "Fall…from…grace…" That's when he remembered her words: Unmei's words.

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><p><em>"<em>_Something evil is coming," she warned with an evil tone. "And this time no one will stop it. This time, we burn. This time, we suffer and die." She paused for a moment and then smiled. "And this time? This time the hero is the one who destroys the world."_

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><p>Bruce snapped Max back into reality.<p>

"We need to get out of here!" he warned.

"Why?" asked Max, curious. "And how come when I tackled you your buddies just ran off."

"Because if you want to survive here its always flight and not fight," answered Bruce in a very serious tone.

That was when a strange noise sounded, and Bruce squealed in horror.

"He's here," he squeaked in fear.

"Who's here?" asked Max as he took a fighting stance.

"The Reaper," returned Bruce.

That was when off into the distance, there was a flash of red light. Emerging from it was a dark figure wearing a black cloak with a hood to mask their identity. In their right hand was a large and deadly looking scythe.

"Run!" shouted Bruce as he sprinted in the opposite direction from the Reaper.

Max turned and watched as he left before looking over to the Reaper, but gasped when he saw that he was gone. As Max turned back to Bruce, the Reaper emerged from the shadows in front of him.

"Shit!" shouted Max as he threw a punch, only for the Reaper to expertly dodge out of the way and then plant his fist into Max's stomach.

"Fuck!" snarled Max as the air was emptied out of his lungs. The Reaper had gotten him good. He had been winded. He fell to the ground, clutching his chest in pain as the Reaper made a large leap over to Bruce.

He landed right in front of him and kicked him back. Bruce stumbled but managed to keep his footing.

"No!" he cursed as he pulled a gun from his coat and aimed it. "I refuse to die!"

He fired six shots, one after the other at point-blank range. Everything seemed to slow as the bullets roared towards the Reaper. But the dark figure didn't seem all to fazed at this development. He expertly arched his back and ducked under the bullets at amazing and near impossible speed.

Bruce threw his gun in desperation next, but it bounced harmlessly off the Reaper who descended on his prey. He grabbed Bruce around the throat with his empty hand and held him up. Bruce gasped for breath and tried to move the Reaper's hand, but they refused to budge. He kicked and hammered the Reaper but the seemingly unbeatable foe was not damaged at all.

Finally, he threw Bruce to the side, who crashed into a wall and slumped down. Blood now leaked from a wound in his head and tears were forming in his eyes.

"Please," begged Bruce. "Have mercy…"

The Reaper studied Bruce for a while, as if questioning why he was attacking the poor man in the first place. But then he shook it off and raised his scythe with two hands.

"No!" Bruce pleaded with a scream.

By this time, Max had finally recovered from being winded and stood up. He saw the Reaper standing over Bruce with his scythe ready.

"No!" protested Max, but it was too late.

It all happened so fast from Max's point of view. The Reaper made one swipe with his scythe, and the sobs of Bruce ended immediately. His now decapitated head fell from his body and rolled for a bit, leaving a trail of blood.

Max fell silent. He didn't know how to react or what to say after seeing Bruce get murdered. For once he didn't have a wisecrack or joke to make. Because nothing was funny anymore.

"You fucker!" roared Max with fury. He generated a ball of red energy and threw it at the Reaper.

The Reaper simply dodged out of the way and his scythe faded. He then held his hand forward and a stream of dark red energy shot from it towards Max.

"Damn," he cursed to himself as he jumped out of the way and did a commando roll before getting back on his feet. He watched as the Reaper struck the ground with his fist and the whole street began to shake.

'I have a feeling I'm playing with forces I can't understand,' thought Max as he turned and ran.

The Reaper watched for a bit before vanishing into the shadows.

Max was busy sprinting down the ruined street, trying to get some distance between himself and the Reaper.

'Of fuck,' Max continually repeated in thought. 'What am I going to do? How did I end up in that building? And how long was I out for when Linh attacked me?'

At that point in time, Max skidded to a stop as the Reaper appeared out of thin air in front of him.

"Leave me alone!" threatened Max as pushed the wind in front of him, creating a jet of red energy that shot towards the Reaper. The dark figure leapt into the air to avoid the attack and landed with ease. But by the time he had landed, Max had already generated a whip of energy and used it to bash the Reaper through the air into a wall with a crash.

Max didn't dillydally; he once again began running away as fast as he could. He briefly looked over his shoulder and gasped when he saw the Reaper was gone. When he faced the front again, he could see that the Reaper was up ahead.

The Prince of Fire reacted quickly, turning the corner and essentially avoiding the Reaper again. As he ran forward, he noticed up ahead that the road was blocked by a stack up of destroyed cars. He looked to one of the buildings on the corner with a busted open window and ran towards it. He briefly looked back and saw the Reaper closing in on him. He was creped out when he noticed the dark figure's legs were not moving, yet somehow he was still moving forward at high speeds.

A shiver went down Max's spine but he shook off the feeling and leapt through the glassless window he had spotted before and landed in the building. He ran to the closest wall of the building and threw himself through the window, shattering the glass and landing on the ground with a crash.

"Son of a bitch," he yelped in pain as he struggled to stand. He looked to the building he had just been in and punched the wall as hard as he could while being charged with order energy. The attack was enough to destabilize the building and it shuddered before collapsing onto itself.

"That ought to hold him off for a bit," hoped Max before going silent when he saw the stack up of cars being blown apart by an energy blast.

Max turned to run, but was too late. There was a second blast that smashed into the cars and this created a shockwave that knocked Max to the ground with a crash.

The fire blader groaned as he slowly got to his feet and looked at the fire the blast had created. From the flames emerged the Reaper, looking more evil and sinister then ever.

Max watched the Reaper briefly, as he starred into the invisible eyes of his foe. He was briefly hypnotized before snapping out of it and running off again.

He knew the Reaper would follow, and Max was beginning to wonder if he actually had a chance at surviving. The Reaper didn't seem to tire, and was merciless. Max had to consider that the only way he'd beat the Reaper was to kill him. But he wasn't so sure if he was coldhearted enough to take a life. No matter how evil or destructive that life is.

_"__Max." _

Max was snapped out of his daze ad gasped as he saw up ahead; only about a meter away, was the Reaper. It was too late to stop and the Reaper had its scythe again. He swung its weapon, which Max was successful at dodging out of the way to avoid it. He kicked the Reaper in the side, using his order energies to power the kick up and send the Reaper soaring through the air and crashing through a window.

"Back to running," said Max to himself as he sprinted towards the park, which had a forest behind it. He decided the forest would provide sufficient cover for him.

As he came to a playground, he sprinted at full pace towards the forest. He had a strange feeling that the Reaper was closing in on him. However, as he sprinted through the large sandpit, his foot caught on something and he fell down with a thump.

"What the hell?" growled Max as he turned over to see what he had tripped on. He gasped. It was a human hand with only part of it flesh still on it.

_"__Max." _

Max looked up and saw the Reaper standing at the top of the rusted yellow slide, holding his scythe with both hands. His cloak billowed and draped around him from the wind and the sun suddenly seemed to vanish, letting night come over the land almost instantly.

Max gulped as a cold breeze came through. He watched as the playground equipment began to move in the wind, almost as if a dark force was moving them. The swings swung with a creak and the seesaw went up and down, the side going down smacking into the ground harshly.

"Leave me alone!" shouted Max to the Reaper as he stood up and rushed out of the sandpit, tripping on a piece of wood that acted as a barrier for the pit. "Crap!" he snarled as fell down again, but continued swearing when he realized he had just tripped down a hill. He rolled all the way to the bottom and only stopped when he smashed into a tree.

He groaned in pain and turned over. He cried out in horror as he saw seven bodies lying on the ground around him. They were bruised and bloody. They were dead. But the part that made Max scream in horror was that they were his friends. It was Simon, Kiara, Blaze, Kenny, Sierra, Ninel and Mana.

"NO!" roared Max in fury, creating a red glow around him. He scrunched up his fists and cursed at the sky. That was when the Reaper appeared again, standing a few feet from him. The dark figure laughed.

Max pounded his fist into the ground and growled at the Reaper. "You did this didn't you?" he snapped.

The Reaper didn't reply straight away. For a moment, he examined Max for a bit before replying.

_"__Yes." _

"Go to hell!" exclaimed Max as he stood up and charged the Reaper.

As he came near him, he pulled his wrist back and threw it forward for a sucker-punch. But the Reaper was fast, and he successfully dodged Max's fist and plowed his into Max's chin.

The fire blader stumbled back from the blow before being kneed in the gut by his opponent. Max fell onto his back and groaned in pain. But he was too angered to stay down.

Using his powers, Max was successful at leaping back to his feet. He conjured a ball of energy and threw it at the Reaper, who swiftly dodged to the side and avoided the blast. He subsequently pushed at the air and this created a large gust of wind that knocked Max back.

He recovered quickly and held his palm out, creating an energy stream that shot towards the Reaper. The hooded villain held his own palm out and used it to block the incoming attack. Max concentrated harder and was able to make his blast stronger, causing the Reaper to slide back from the power. But the Reaper knew his stuff, and he rolled out of the way of the blast, allowing it to harmlessly smash into a tree. He then quickly jumped to his feet and shot a beam at Max, who unlike the Reaper was not fast enough to dodge or block. It hit him right in the chest and sent him flying back and crashing into a tree.

"Damn," Max cursed as he stood up and death starred the Reaper. He let out a battle cry and punched the ground, sending an energy stream flowing through the ground before coming out behind the Reaper and hitting him in the back. The Reaper stumbled forward but quickly regained his balance and punched the ground himself, creating a small tremor of sorts. Max lot his balance as the tremor got worse and eventually it got so bad that the ground underneath Max came away. Max screamed but managed to leap before the crater came to be, and this was enough to allow him to catch onto the edge of the crater and climb to safety.

_"__Max." _

Max looked to the other side of the crater where the Reaper stood, and he watched as he magnificently leapt over the gap and landed in front of him.

"Shit," was all Max could say as the Reaper kicked him, knocking him into the crater. As he fell he screamed, but then he remembered his friends lying on the ground dead, and Bruce. He couldn't let the Reaper win. He wouldn't let the Reaper win. He held his arm up and an energy whip extended from his hand and shot out of the crater before tying itself around the tree. The whip acted like a slingshot, which once fully stretched bounced up, propelling Maz out of the crater and allowing him to kick the Reaper straight in the stomach. The hooded villain went flying and smashed through a pillar with a crash while Max landed safely in style.

Max punched the air in front of him. "Score one for the good guy!" he cheered. "How do you like that Reaper?" he taunted.

_"__Max." _

The Reaper stood up and brushed himself off, he didn't seem to injured from the last attack. He then flicked his wrist, creating a disk of red energy, which flew towards Max while spinning like a saw blade. Max was successful at ducking under the disk and ran in while throwing a barrage of energy balls at the Reaper, who blocked a couple with his hands and dodged the rest. Max came in close and generated a sword of energy, which he used to slash at the Reaper. He missed, and the Reaper kicked him in the face, knocking him back. By the time Max recovered the Reaper had created a sword of energy as well.

"You're going down!" declared Max as he ran in with his sword at the ready. The Reaper blocked the attack with his own sword before using his empty hand to grab Max around the throat. He subsequently threw him back to the ground, Max losing his sword in the process. The Reaper moved forward and stood above Max with his weapon raised.

_"__Any last words." _

"Fuck you!" retorted Max as he generated an energy blast that knocked the Reaper back. Max leapt to his feet and charged at the Reaper knocking his blade from his hand and then grabbing him around the throat with both hands. He subsequently began to strangle the Reaper in a fit of rage.

"This is for all those people you killed!" roared Max as he continued to choke the Reaper, who fell to his knees.

_"__Max." _

Max recalled one of his hands and used it to punch the Reaper in the face, knocking his hood back in the process. Max's eyes widened in horror when he saw whom it was. It was himself, with glowing red eyes.

"No," stuttered Max in shock. "It…can't…be…"

The Reaper took Max by surprise and kneed him the groan, causing Max to loosen his grip. The Reaper broke free and knocked Max to the ground before generating his scythe again and holding it up.

"NO!" screamed Max as the Reaper brought his scythe down on him; laughing maniacally as he did it.

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><p>"Ah!" shouted Max as he awoke from the nightmare. He breathed heavily for a few moments and sighed in relief when he realized that everything he had just been through was a bad dream. The world wasn't in ruin. His friends weren't dead. But most importantly, he wasn't the Reaper.<p>

Max wiped some sweat from his face and looked around, immediately noticing that he was once again in a hospital bed surrounded by the growing number of soulless students or ones who had fallen into comas. He was still in his normal clothes, with the exception of his jacket, which had been place on the end of his bed all folded up.

He squinted through the dark room and immediately noticed some new patients The former Guardians of Light rested in beds. Max stepped out of his bed and walked over to them and picked up a clipboard attached to Vincent's bed. He read through it for a moment and discovered that the former guardians were now in comas.

"But why?" Max asked himself and narrowed his eyes as he studied the five people he had taken down. Had it been because they'd been given so much power from the Queen? Was Max partly to blame for defeating them and causing them to fall into comas?

Max gritted his teeth and placed the clipboard back. He walked back over to his bed and then fell to his knees and cried out in pain. He hadn't seen it earlier because his eyesight had not yet adjusted. His right shoulder had bandages over it and he rolled up his left jean leg up to reveal another bandage around his knee. He had been more injured from Linh's attack then he had thought.

"Linh!?"

Max had almost forgotten the "Queen." He had saw that she was the one who had orchestrated the whole event of kids falling under possession and had started the Peace Keepers society. He turned to face a corner bed, where Linh lay also in a coma now. It hadn't shocked him at that point in time when the Linh's identity was first revealed to him because he was overcome by rage and pain.

Max gasped. He had remembered his outburst this time. When he had attacked Aiya he couldn't remember it properly. But he could recall being trapped in coffin wrapped in chains and threatening Linh. But he wasn't a violent person. What had come over him?

_"__Max." _

"Leave me alone!" shouted Max as he grabbed a glass on his bedside table and threw it at a wall. It's smashed into pieces with a crash.

Max grabbed his head and shook it around for a moment before sitting down on his bed.

"Get a grip Max," the Nova Flare blader told himself. "You're still messed up from that nightmare. You're friends are fine. Simon must have beaten Linh and saved everyone. There's no destroyed city and no Reaper."

_"__Max." _

Max looked up and gasped. The Reaper was standing in the far corner of the room, his hood back over his head and his scythe in hand.

"No!" cried Max in panic as he stood up and stumbled back. "You're just a figment of my imagination! You're not real!"

_"__Max." _

"Get away from me!" exclaimed Max as he generated an orb of red energy and threw it at the Reaper, creating a small explosion. Max covered his face with his arms to block the recoil.

After a few seconds, he removed his arms and saw that he had attacked a tall thin medical instrument. The Reaper had never been there.

"What's happening to me?" questioned Max quietly as he fell to his knees and hugged himself. It suddenly felt cold. And lonely. The Reaper had been a figment of Max's imagination. He didn't exist…

_"__Max." _

This time, it was so quiet that Max didn't here. But how could this be. The Reaper was just apart of his imagination. Or was he…?

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><p>Simon cringed as he sat down at a table in the cafeteria. His leg had been injured since his battle with Linh. He rubbed the bandage over his calf muscle before looking over his tray of food. He had an apple, a sandwich and a can of Coca-Cola.<p>

"Still having trouble with the leg huh?" observed Kiara as she next to Simon on the table, followed a little later by Kenny and Blaze while Sierra, Mana and Ninel sat on the opposite side of the table.

"Yeah," Simon answered. "Still hurts. The doctors said it'd be better after a week."

"Too bad that storm's been keeping any other medical attention from coming to the island," noted Kenny as he took a bite of an apple he was holding.

Mana nodded. "Worse part of the storm is the fact its stopping law enforcement and the WBBA from coming to investigate and help us out." She then took a sip from her chocolate Big M.

"How's Max been doing?" asked Ninel.

"He still hasn't woken up since Linh attacked him," replied Blaze as she ate a banana. "Haven't seen him today though."

"Did they figure out what was wrong with him?" Sierra questioned.

"He's in a sort of comatose state," explained Kenny. "Except he isn't. He's kind of in-between really. He's not in a coma, but he's lacking the energy to sort of wake up."

"Linh did try draining his life force," said Simon. "You should have seen it, it was horrible to watch."

"By the way," interrupted Kiara. "You said when you unleashed your final attack on Linh you saw an order symbol. Is that true?"

Simon nodded before taking a sip of his Coke. "It was when I combined Griff and Drake's powers. I felt this sudden surge of extra energy. At that moment I saw the omega order symbol flash in front of me."

"Interesting," commented Blaze. "Not only can you see spirits, but you also somehow briefly gained order powers."

"The plot thickens," stated Sierra jokingly.

There were a few moments of silence until Ninel narrowed her eyes at something on the other side of the cafeteria.

"Who's that she asked?" and pointed to what she was looking at. It was a figure, standing at the other end of the cafeteria wearing a black cloak with the hood up. In addition, the figure was wearing an iconic Guy Fawkes Mask.

The rest of the gang looked to where Ninel was pointing.

Mana frowned at the sight. "Why's that kid wearing a Guy Fawkes Mask?" she questioned.

"He looks like a shady character," Sierra observed. "What's the bet he's another chaos kid trying to pull something?"

"Let me see," decided Kiara as she stood up and immediately began walking over to the figure.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" asked Blaze.

"You can see from here," rebuffed Kiara. "If anything happens come over and give me a hand." With that she walked off towards the figure.

"Hey you," Kiara called out to the figure from the center of the cafeteria.

The figure turned to look at her.

"Yes, you in the hood," Kiara continued as she came closer. "I need to talk to you about something."

When Kiara was within a meter of the figure, he sprinted off towards the doors. Kiara was quicker however and ran after him. Just as he was about to get to the door she grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him back.

"Now mister," grunted Kaira as she held the figure's caught arm in a hold. "Tell me why you're wearing that mask and if you have anything planned that might require someone to beat the crap out of you."

"I have an idea," the figure replied calmly.

Kiara raised an eyebrow, "Idea?"

By this time, the gang had made their way over to see what was happening, Simon a little further behind because of his leg injury.

"What's with the guy?" asked Mana.

"He said something about having an idea," stated Kiara.

"We are told to remember the idea," interrupted the figure. "Not the man, because a man can fail. He can be caught, he can be killed and forgotten, but 400 years later, an idea can still change the world," he quoted.

The gang looked at each other with puzzled expressions and looks.

"What the heck is he talking about?" asked Simon.

"He just quoted Evey from the V for Vendetta movie," concluded Kenny.

Ninel clicker her fingers as she remembered. "Oh yeah. Isn't that the one about the guy in the mask as he tries to overthrow the corrupted government?"

"Indeed," replied the figure. "And like the government from the movie, the world has also become corrupted. I seek to cleanse it with an idea."

"And what's the idea?" asked Kiara as the figure discretely pulled a syringe filled with green liquid from his belt.

"Chaos," laughed the figure before stabbing Kiara in the stomach with the syringe and injecting the fluid within into her.

Kiara let out a cry of pain and pushed the figure back before he could finish injecting the fluid. The syringe itself was knocked from the figure's hand in the process, but he didn't care. He just went back to laughing while Kiara fell down in a daze.

"What did you do to her you chaos freak!" snapped Blaze.

"I've simply begun a revolution," loafed the figure. "You'll see soon enough."

"You don't think we'll stop you!" cried Sierra as she ran in with a punch, but the figure caught it and kicked Sierra back into a wall.

"I am but an idea," the figure taunted. "And ideas are bulletproof."

"You're crazy," retorted Mana as she ran in with a kick. The figure dodged it and leapt over her. Before Mana could react, the figure planted their fist into her head, knocking her to her knees and nearly rendering her unconscious.

"You'll all see how much better the world will be soon," snorted the figure. "And for now, you can call me R for Revolution!"

Before anyone could do anything, 'R' struck the ground with a strange material, creating a fog screen from which he could escape undetected through.

"That was…interesting," noted Simon. He was cut off from the sound of Kiara coughing and spluttering.

"Are you okay Kiara?" asked Ninel as the Solaria blader stumbled through the cafeteria, clutching her throat in pain.

"What's happening?" asked Sierra in shock, having now recovered from R's attack.

"I'm presuming it has something to do with what R injected her with," answered Kenny as he picked up the syringe and examined it.

That was when Kiara collapsed to the ground and her breathing ceased. The entire cafeteria went silent as all eyes fell upon Kiara. There were a few tense seconds before Kiara began laughing. She slowly rose to her feet, as her skin became grey and black. Her teeth sharpened and her eyes went pitch black.

"Holy shit," said Simon in disbelief and horror. "Did she just turn into a zombie?"

"Pinch me if I'm dreaming," Mana, now also recovered from being hit, asked Ninel.

"You're not dreaming," the Alicorn blader replied.

"Chaos," laughed Kiara before lunging at Sierra ad grabbing her throat. Before anyone could do anything, Kiara sank her teeth in Sierra's throat. Blood spurted all over the place and Sierra cried out in pain and screamed. She successfully pushed Kiara back. She fell to her knees in tears all while clutching the wound on her neck.

"Shit! Shit!" cursed Sierra over and over as more blood leaked from her wound. It dripped all over her clothes and soon began to rot and grey. Slowly, Sierra's skin began to change just as Kiara's had. Within only a few seconds, she had become a zombie.

"Not good," gulped Kenny just as Kiara leapt upon a student and bit them, this time almost instantly turning them into a zombie.

"Crud," added Simon as the zombie Sierra ran at another student and bit them, quickly transforming them into a zombie.

The cafeteria erupted into pure chaos. Kids started screaming and running for their lives while the small group of zombies spread out and began spreading the disease by biting new victims.

The gang, or what was left of them, meanwhile backed into the corner and took cover under a table. Simon was a bit behind because of his injury but was successful at getting under the table.

"Zombie attack?" questioned Mana, slightly annoyed. "These chaos guys are lacking originality now."

"It makes sense though," responded Ninel. "They'd have an army of zombies. And all they'd have to do is bite others to infect them and add them to the army. More efficient then Linh's strategy when you think about it."

"How do we even though this is a chaos threat?" asked Simon.

"Who else do we know that can actually create zombies?" Blaze replied with a rhetorical question.

"You made you're point," said Simon bluntly.

At that point, the table they hid under was grabbed and thrown away by a couple of zombies.

"Don't mess with me!" snapped Mana as she stood up and kicked one of the male zombies in the groin, but this didn't seem to have any affect.

"Zombies can't feel pain!" observed Blaze. "We can't hurt them by attacking!"

"We can still knock them down though!" returned Ninel as grabbed a zombie by the head and kneed them before pushing them back.

"But they just keep on coming," noted Kenny as the zombie Ninel just attacked got up again.

"We're not really getting anywhere with this," Blaze confirmed. "I think we should run and figure out what the heck that weirdo in the mask did to Kiara and fast."

"Agreed," nodded Kenny and the group made a break for the door.

"Hey wait!" shouted Simon, who could not run properly due to his injury.

By this time, the gang was at the door and stopped when they heard Simon shout out to them.

"Hurry up!" warned Blaze.

"I'm going!" said Simon in return before a zombie lunged at him and tackled him to the ground.

"Simon!" cried Ninel. Mana ran forward and side kicked the zombie in the face and knocked it away before it could bite Simon. She yanked Simon to his feet and helped him run to where the rest of the group lay.

"Well hasn't this been a joyful lunch," groaned Mana before the group sprinted from the cafeteria with some other kids while the vastly growing zombie army pursued.

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Continued: Next Time - Chaotic Carnage! <strong>

**The gang desperately search for a solution to the growing zombie virus before its too late. Meanwhile Max undergoes a strange transformation and slowly shows a more sinister side. As the members of the gang slowly grow smaller as they become victims of the virus, soon its only Max and Blaze left to face off against 'R' who plans to boost his powers with his zombies using their souls and then spread the virus all over the world! Can Blaze defeat R once and for all, or will she become the final zombie needed to create a chaotic pandemic? **

**DUN-DUN-DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN! **

**Hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I hope you all look forward to the one for next week! But now we're left with a few questions like what the heck is happening to Max and how the gang will survive the growing zombie army. All these questions and more will be answered next week on Beyblade Metal Heroes in 'Chaotic Carnage!' **

**Now REMEMBER TO PLEASE REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU ALL THOUGHT OF THIS! SORRY AGAIN FOR THE LATE UPDATE!**

**Infinity Wizard signing out! **


	41. Chapter 41: Chaotic Carnage

**I'm a day late I know, don't kill me! Yeah, my laptop was briefly confiscated. I only just got it back. So annoying. But anyway, I have 299 reviews! That means only one more and we go three hundred! I never thought this story would be so popular. I've already begun planning the first episode of Season: 2 Dark Prophecy and how the series is going to pan out. **

* * *

><p><strong>Anyway, onto the review response! <strong>

**AKA99: **Yep, Max's struggling with his inner demons. And we'll see a bit more of that in this chapter. Glad I got the nightmare done well because that was the part I had to rewrite so many times. And now we get to the zombie apocalypse, and the bites aren't exactly fatal because they heal up when they become zombies and even if they turn back they're still healed.

**AlchemistWarriorDiamondDust: **This will be interesting indeed. Happy to know you liked the previous chapter and I hope you enjoy the next one.

**Indestructible Black Rose: **You still can't log in huh? You've probably tried everything by now but hopefully you can log in by doing the follow things:

-Try a different web browser

-Try logging in on a different computer or on your phone.

-Stay off fanfiction for 24 hours.

One of these usually works for me.

But yeah, Kiara is a zombie and Max is losing it mentally a bit. I got the suspense right, thank god for that.

**TheMidnightSniper: **Max will be having many more nightmares, even crazier ones. Nice to know you like how I did the chase scenes.

**Alpha Dragonis: **That is a scary coincidence. And Kiara getting infected first was something I thought up on the spot, but then again, if a girl goes first then why not have a girl goes first in this story?

Also, I've been meaning to ask you something. Don't mean to hassle you but I was wondering when you'd be updating Beyblade Star Academy because it's very well done and interesting and the plot's great and all. Once again, not trying to hassle you or anything, just wondering.

**Kawaiino Tenshi Kiki: **Yep, fifteen rewrites. Yeah, I decided to dedicate half of the chapter to showing Max's internal struggles because this is something that will more explored in Season 2. And things will get pretty crazy in this chapter.

**Dequincy: **Sorry but I'm not excepting anymore OC's for this story, it closed a good while back. However, I really liked your two OC's so you should wait until Season 2 comes out and submit your OC then. So, start reading through the chapters to get a good idea of what's going on and then you can send your OC in once Season 2 starts. Hopefully you get this message. PM me about this if you do get this message.

**Now then, time for the chapter, but before that I'm giving you all a sneak peek into Season 2. That's right, I'm releasing the first teaser trailer for season 2. Another will come sometime during the 'Dark Oath' arc before the fully-fledged trailer will be released at the end of the story. Hope you all enjoy. **

* * *

><p>(Cue depressing music)<p>

Max is shown standing at a gravestone.

Some kids run from an exploding building.

A shadowy figure walks down a hall laughing.

_"__Wise man once said the bitterest truth is always better then the sweetest lie." _

Max walks through a jungle terrain, his clothes torn and his face dirty. He looks tired and falls to the ground.

Mana enters a room where Team Nova Flare is waiting.

A kid sits in a strange chair-device with wires attached to himself.

_"__But how do you know that it isn't a lie itself." _

A boy with yellow hair wearing black punches Simon to the ground.

Kiara and Blaze running down a fiery hallway is shown.

Sierra strapped down to a table silently screams.

_"__Max, I once told you that secrets have a cost. But I failed to mention that sometimes, the truth has costs too." _

"Everything I thought I knew was a lie," Max says to Kenny.

"We fought too hard for it to end like this," states Kiara to Team Nova Flare.

"Friends are just an excuse for weaklings to cling together," says the boy in black to Blaze, Simon and Kiara.

_"__Sometimes you need to know when to keep secrets."_

"All these years wasted," states Luther.

"Begin Project G.E.N.E.S.I.S," advises Mr. Heckler to a scientist.

"You're fighting a war you can't possibly win," threatens a man to Max.

"Then I'm about to get an A for effort," Max rebuffs.

_ "__Because sometimes the truth is better left buried." _

Max falls to the ground, clutching his head screaming silently in pain. A dark arm reaches out and places it handson Max's head where it begins to glow.

**_"_****_Do you have any idea, what you really are?" _**

_(Cue epic music) _

**Beyblade Metal Heroes Season 2**

**Dark Prophecy**

A large black and purple hydra faces the Red Knight. The Hydra lets out a fearsome roar while the Knight pulls out his flaming sword. The Hydra unleashed a burst of energy from its mouth while the Knight unleashed his Flame Spiral attack from his sword.

**"E****volve or Die."**

**_Coming soon. _**

* * *

><p><strong>And that's the first teaser trailer; I hope you all enjoyed it. It was short for a reason as to not spoil too much yet. We still have a couple of questions however. Some include: <strong>

**-Who was narrating? **

**-Who spoke at the end? (Hint, they're not the same as the person narrating). **

**-Who's hand was reaching out to Max's head? **

**-Who's grave was Max standing in front of. **

**-Who's the boy in black? **

**-And what's with the Hydra? **

**None them, onto the final part of the zombie apocalypse! **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 41: Chaotic Carnage<strong>

Max was resting in his hospital bed with his eyes closed, trying to get his mind to focus on positive things rather then the bad things. It was a bit hard, as he couldn't get the image of his dead friends, him being the Reaper, and his outburst against Linh out of his head. But he couldn't. Those things were all he could think about.

"Fuck," he scowled to himself and stepped out of bed. He began walking around the room, back and forth in thought.

'Why am I just sitting here?' he thought. 'Who knows when 'Zygor' will strike again with another chaos student. It's only a matter of time. And their plots are getting worst. Frieda tried to kidnap kids, Linh used giant spiders and Linh attempted to hypnotize everyone into creating a cult devoted to bringing chaos to the world.'

At the point Max's train of thought was stopped by a noise off into the distance. He slowly tiptoed over to the door and placed his ear against it. He could hear some moans and groans from the other side.

Max frowned. "What in the name of-"

He was cut off, as the door at that moment was knocked off its hinges and sent Max flying across the room and smacking into the far wall with a crash. He crumbled to the ground in pain, his early injuries only making things worse. The broken door lay on top of him, and he was too weak to push it out of the way.

'Too weak to move,' he thought weakly.

At that point in time, Max saw just what exactly had busted the door open. It was a small squad of student zombies, all groaning and hissing.

Max was too weak to even be shocked by seeing this. He just watched, waiting for the end.

'Does it all end here?' he thought sadly. 'Is this how it ends.'

The Prince of Fire watched as the zombies closed in on him. They seemed to ignore the soulless students and proceeded forth without a second glance.

'I can't let it end like this,' Max thought, slightly angered. 'I can't go out. Not like this.' He was successful at mustering up enough strength to bunch up is right fist in anger.

Now the zombies were upon him, their jaws opened with saliva spewing out. They pulled the door off of him and threw it away. The zombie at the front bent down and extended their jaws towards Max's neck.

'I refuse to lose!' snapped Max in thought and his body released a blast of red energy that sent the zombies flying back. His crest immediately lit up and in a flash, healed his wounds.

"Did you really think you could beat me?" Max taunted at the zombies as he stood up with his head lowered. "I'll rip every single one of you pathetic and gruesome zombies apart." He looked up grinning, with his eyes fully red.

The zombies studied Max for a moment. He was Max, but at the same time he wasn't. It was as if something deep within Max's mind and soul had come out. Something dark. Something sinister. Something evil.

The zombies charged and Max waved his hand, creating a jet of air that sent the zombies flying back into the hall with a crash.

Max leapt out of the room in a single bound and used his powers to tear apart of the wall out and use it to crush the zombies, pinning them down. He grinned at his work before proceeding down the hall where he came to another group of zombies.

One charged at Max, but he simply punched it through the head and threw it off to the side. The zombie although defeated, slowly began to re-heal its own head. Max didn't seem to care about this however.

A second zombie came in but Max elbowed it to the side and sent an energy stream shooting towards the third zombie from his palm, shattering its chest and knocking what remained of its body to the ground.

There were two more zombies left now and both charged in at the same time. Max laughed to himself. These zombies were idiots in accordance to him.

"All will fall before me!" he snarled and conjured two swords of red energy. As the two zombies came in, Max slashed and successfully decapitated them in one shot. Their heads rolled for a bit and stopped before their bodies crumbled to the ground.

Max dashed along the hall line and exited the building. He was stunned when he saw scorns of zombies lurking around. He grinned devilishly and cracked his knuckles.

"Ready or not," he taunted. "Here I come."

His body then unleashed red streams of energy that formed into different kinds of weapons. The large weapons then hacked their way through the zombie army while Max laughed malevolently at the sight.

* * *

><p>Mana, Ninel, Kenny, Simon and Blaze ran through the halls of the science building, trying desperately to find a place to hide from the growing army of zombies.<p>

"There's too many of them to fight!" panicked Kenny, who was running at the back of the group.

"Thank you for pointing that out captain obvious!" retorted Mana from the front of the group.

"Stop fighting!" interrupted Simon bluntly, who was being helped to run by Ninel. "We need to find a hiding spot and figure out what that masked guy did to Kiara!"

"In here!" shouted a voice.

The gang turned a corner and saw Professor Viper leaning out of a classroom up ahead.

"Quickly!" he cried again and the gang sprinted at full pelt. They slid into the room and collapsed from exhaustion while Viper slammed the door closed and locked it. He quickly pushed a table in front of it and jammed the door with a crowbar. "That should hold them off for a bit," he stated as he adjusted his jacket. Already the sounds of banging could be heard from the other side of the door.

"Maybe we can examine that syringe now that we have some spare time," suggested Blaze as she pointed at the syringe still clutched in Kenny's hand.

Kenny nodded. "Good idea." He walked over to a cupboard and pulled out a small glass slide. He placed it on the table and squirted a bit of the remaining fluid in the syringe on it. He then took the slide and placed it under a microscope. The gang watched as Kenny adjusted the magnifying of the microscope for a moment before looking into it.

There were a few moments of silence as Kenny studied the liquid. Finally he moved his face away from the eye lens of the microscope.

"It's a liquid of some sort mixed with something else I can't identify," he said.

"Let me have a look," suggested Viper as he stepped towards Kenny. The bey mechanic agreed and stepped out of the way. Viper leaned over and placed his right eye against the lens.

"Interesting," he noted. "The first obvious substance is chaos."

"Chaos?" questioned Ninel in a confused manner.

"You heard me right," replied Viper. "The substance this is mixed with is _literally_ chaos. R has actually infected a substance with chaos energy, corrupting it, contaminating it and causing it to transform people into zombies."

'How did Viper know about R?' thought Blaze, startled. 'He wasn't in the cafeteria at the time. Strange.' She decided not to comment on this right now.

"I'm getting thirsty," interrupted Simon as he walked over to one of the sinks and took out a glass from a cupboard. "Anyone want a drink."

"Yeah I'll have one," replied Ninel as Simon grabbed a second glass and began to fill both glasses up.

"I just need to figure out what substance he's corrupted now," Viper added as he adjusted the magnifying of the lens.

Meanwhile, Simon had finished filling the glasses up and handed one to Ninel. Simon immediately started drinking his.

"Oh dear," panicked Viper as he looked up from the microscope. "The substance is water."

"And that's bad because…?" asked Blaze.

"Imagine how easy it will be for R to taint other water supplies," stated Viper. "He could of easily have done it already…" He trailed off when he realized Simon was drinking his water still.

"No!" Viper cried as he leapt at Simon and knocked his glass from his hand, sending it crashing to the ground. Ninel immediately dropped her glass afterwards.

"If the water is infected already," Mana said.

"Then Simon is…" finished Blaze for her.

At that moment, Simon began to cough and wheeze. He stumbled for a bit, clutching his throat in pain.

"It…burns…" he coughed as he fell to his knees.

"Get back everyone!" ordered Viper as they moved to the corner of the room, away from Simon.

"It all makes sense," observed Kenny.

"Indeed," answered Viper. "The virus targets the water supply in bodies and then infects the entire system. That also explains why people turn into zombies when they are bitten by one. The saliva from their mouth get's injected into the victim and spreads throughout their body."

"Fuck…" cursed Simon as he slumped down. There were a few seconds of silence before Simon laughed gruesomely. His arms and les twitched as they became thin and grey. His face rotted and his teeth enlarged themselves while saliva poured from his mouth. His eyelids were pulled back and he looked at his friends evilly.

"I think we better run," Ninel said and the gang broke into a run. The now zombie Simon suddenly leapt up and caught Mana around the ankle.

"Sorry Simon!" she apologized harshly as she used her free leg to kick him. Her foot caught his jaw and sent him flying back and crashing into a glass cabinet. Before he could recover and stand up however, what remained of the cabinet fell and toppled him, pinning him to the ground.

"That would have hurt," observed Kenny with a painful expression before Mana pushed him and edged him on to keep running.

"We have to leave him!" she declared and Kenny obliged, running towards the end of the room with the rest of the gang.

"ZZZZZZZ!"

"What's that?" asked Ninel quietly.

By this time, the zombies had given up on breaking the lab door down. One had found a chainsaw and was ripping through the door with it instead!

"It sounds like a…" Viper trailed off when the chainsaw's blade came chopping through the door and was as it was used to cut a hole open. "…. Chainsaw!" he managed to finish.

Mana ran over to a synthetic display skeleton and ripped its head off before taking aim at the nearest window.

"Move!" she cried, giving time for her comrades to move to a safe distance before she hurled the skull into the window, breaking it open with a crash.

"It's two stories up!" panicked Kenny. "We can't jump from here!"

"We can jump onto that truck!" noted Blaze as she pointed at said vehicle below.

By now, zombies had begun entering the lab and were swarming through.

Viper quickly moved to a cupboard and pulled out a tank of gasoline. He unscrewed the top and threw the tank at one of the zombies, the impact knocking it and three others back. In addition, because the tank was open, gasoline went everywhere.

Viper then reached into another cupboard and pulled out a lighter. "When I say go, jump!" he said to the others, who all nodded in return.

"Go!" Viper roared as he flicked the lighter on and threw it at the nearest gasoline soaked zombie, immediately lighting it on fire and causing it to spread to all the other zombies with gasoline on them.

Meanwhile, the gang leapt out of the room and landed on top of the truck safely.

"Now if I'm correct," Viper said as he adjusted his glasses. "The fire should spread to the gas tank in the room and-"

He didn't need to finish as the room they were just in went up in flames with a BANG! The shockwave sent their clothes flapping and they had to cover their eyes from the brightness because they were so close.

"You just killed them!" Blaze snapped at Viper in shock and horror.

"They were going to follow us," rebuffed Viper casually. "Besides I had a theory that being zombies they'd be able to regenerate or heal."

"You're right," interrupted Ninel as she pointed to pieces of zombies that had just been blown up and had ended up on the ground near them. The gang adjusted their view to where Ninel was pointing and watched as the zombie body parts began to regrow.

"Just as I predicted," mused Viper.

Blaze glared at him from behind. 'Ever since I met this guy,' she thought. 'I can't but feel there's something off about him. Something that just doesn't feel right.'

"Let's go," stated Ninel and the gang leapt down from the truck.

"Where now?" asked Kenny.

"Maybe we can find a way to cure the students now we know what's making them zombies," suggested Mana.

Kenny thought about this. "I don't think we have any idea how," he groaned. "The water has been tainted via chaos, and chaos has properties we don't understand."

"He's right," confirmed Viper. "I'd say the best way to end the virus and to turn everyone normal would be to defeat the person who spread it, R. Defeating him should strip him of his chaos powers and in turn, would remove the chaos energies from the tainted water and revert everyone from zombies to their former selves."

"But where do we find this R person?" Ninel asked. "He could be anywhere."

BOOOOM!

Everyone's eyes turned towards a bright red light flashing in the distance near the Summer dormitory.

"What the heck was that?" Blaze questioned.

* * *

><p>Max, his eyes still glowing fully red, laughed as he literally crushed an incoming zombie's head with his hand.<p>

"How does that feel!" he spat as he ripped the head of and threw it at a couple of zombies, the power from the throw knocking them down.

Max turned and watched as a squad of zombies charged at him. He grinned devilishly and conjured a whip of red energy and whipped it at the incoming zombies, slicing them in half and successfully defeating them.

Another zombie lunged at Max but he dodged the attack and flicked his wrist, causing the whip to flick up and decapitate the zombie in one swift motion.

"You look like you've _lost your head_!" taunted Max cruelly before turning to the remaining zombies surrounding him.

"No offense," he snorted. "But I'm getting bored with beating you all. You're not even challenging. I'm going to end this!"

He knelt down and brought his arms close to his chest as the zombies surrounded him. He began to grow red and laughed malevolently.

"Let the requiem of souls begin!" he roared as he stood up and flung his arms out, releasing tentacles of energy from his body that attached to the chests of the zombies and began to suck the energy out of them.

Max laughed as the zombies howled and screeched in pain.

"That's right! Scream!" The Prince of Fire edged on. "Feel the pain! Feel the burn! Die! Vanish into nothing!"

The zombies began to wither and eventually dropped heir heads down while glowing orbs floated from them into Max's chest. The zombies crumbled to the ground with their chests burnt and became unresponsive.

"I am invincible!" cried Max in a malevolent tone as he began firing multiple energy streams up into the air in celebration.

"Impressive Max Smith," laughed a voice.

Max gasped and turned around to face a man in a black suit with a cape and a hood. The man also wore a gloves and a black mask, which worked to mask his identity.

"Who are you?" demanded Max.

"I go by many names," laughed the man. "But you know me by Zygor."

Max's eyes widened. "You're Zygor?"

Zygor nodded. "Yes, I am the man who organized everything. I'm the one who is helping Nemesis' Heir amass power and is helping him to rise."

"You bastard!" cursed Max as he ran forward and punched Zygor. But the man was fast and he successful caught Max's fist and threw him back.

"You know it's interesting to note that the seed has never brought out a dual personality before in someone," mused Zygor as he walked towards Max.

"Go to hell!" Max snapped as conjured his whip and whipped it at Zygor. But the masked man caught it and sent purple energy radiating through it, subsequently shocking Max and shattering the whip.

"Right now you're you," Zygor explained as he walked over to Max and kicked him in the gut, sending him stumbling back. He continued to talk as the two fought.

_"But at the same time you're not you."_

Max came in with another punch but Zygor grabbed his fist and bent his wrist back, causing Max to snarl in pain. Zygor then used his empty hand and smashed his palm into Max's chest, sending him flying back into a wall with a crash.

_"You have a dark side brought on by means that I intend to find out."_

Max recovered and flicked his wrist, creating a beam of energy that shot towards Zygor. He punched the beam and it shattered before his chaos crest glowed purple from underneath his glove.

_"You have so much anger inside you soul, but you don't use it."_

Zygor flicked his wrist, generating a wave of energy that came in from the side. Max was fast, but not fast enough. It chipped him on the shoulder and knocked him down.

_"You have something hidden, deep beneath the skin. Something dark."_

Max growled as he looked at Zygor and red laser burst from his eyes. Zygor held his arms in a cross to his chest and this generated a purple shield that blocked the incoming attack.

_"You are weak, pathetic and useless."_

Zygor threw his arms out and the shield turned into an energy blast that knocked Max back. He groaned in pain but recovered and threw an energy ball at Zygor. But he simply knocked it away with his hand and generated a bolt of energy that struck Max in the chest, knocking him over.

_"You are possibly one of the most powerful beings in existence but right now you don't know how to fully use your power."_

Max generated a sword and charged in with it raised. Zygor dodged to the side and elbowed Max in the back before kicking him into wall.

_"You lack the skill to defeat someone like me."_

Max turned and swung his blade, but Zygor caught it and shattered the weapon in the process. He grabbed Max by the throat and pounded him into the wall.

_"You could do the impossible if you only truly knew all the power you had."_

Zygor subsequently threw Max with superior strength boosted by his crest and Max crashed into the main bey arena in the Summer Dorm's courtyard. He groaned in pain and slowly rose to his feet.

_"But right now I need something you have."_

Zygor generated a large fist of purple energy, which pounded Max into the arena with a crash. Before Max could recover, the fist came down again and smashed him. The same movement happened over and over again until Max was battered completely into submission. He was now bleeding from his nose and had a black eye. He turned onto his stomach and spat some blood from his mouth.

"Those souls you just collected, I need them for my master."

Zygor extended his hand and a purple energy tentacle extended from his palm and turned Max over before attaching to his chest. Max cried in pain as the tentacle began to burn and suck energy from him.

"I'd take your soul too, but that requires a much more powerful force, one only my master can utilize effectively."

Max screamed in pain as the tentacle ripped a couple of soul spheres from his body, which floated into a flask in Zygor's empty hand. He closed the flask as the tentacle vanished and Max felt all of his energy leave his body. He watched as Zygor reached for his mask and pulled it off, revealing himself. Max silently gasped when he saw who it was.

'It can't be,' he thought. 'That's not possible.'

_"You will be weak for a bit. And you won't remember any of this. Shadow Screen."_

Zygor then walked down the arena and knelt down in front of Max. He snapped his fingers and black grains spread from his hands and covered Max completely before vanishing. When they did, Max's eyes were closed and the darkness that had taken hold of Max earlier ceased…for now.

Zygor put his mask back on and whispered into Max's ear.

_"Do you have any idea, what you really are?"_

He then vanished in a puff of black smoke.

* * *

><p>"Max! Max! Max! Max! Max! Max! Max! Max!"<p>

Max groaned as he slowly opened his eyes and saw Kenny, Mana, Ninel, Blaze and Viper standing over him.

The Prince of Fire sat up and rubbed his black eye. "What happened?" he asked.

"We found you lying here unconscious," explained Blaze.

"And looking at your injuries," Kenny continued for her. "I'd say whatever attacked you ripped the souls out of these zombies," he assumed.

"Souls…zombies…"muttered Max as he tried to regain his memory.

_"__Do you have any idea, what you really are?" _

Max shook the memory of the words off, the words he couldn't remember who they were spoken by.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Ninel asked.

"I remember being in the hospital wing," answered Max quietly. "And the zombies knocked the door down and I couldn't move and then…"

"Then what?" Blaze asked, narrowing her eyes.

Max didn't reply straight away. "Then…nothing. All I get is blackness." He groaned and rested his head on his palm.

'What's happening to me?" he thought.

Ninel and Mana helped Max to his feet and looked around and immediately noticed Kiara, Simon and Sierra were missing.

"Where is everyone," questioned the fire blader.

There was a pause before Mana answered. "They got turned into zombies," she commented.

"Dammit," cursed Max angrily as he punched the air in front of him. "Who did this? Who is it this time?"

"We don't know," Viper responded with his arms folded. "The person who did it calls themselves 'R' for Revolution."

"This 'R' person has infected the school with chaos contaminated water," added Ninel. "So if a zombie bites you their saliva gets into your system and infects you."

Max nodded. "Do we have an idea how to cure anyone?" he asked impatiently.

The rest of them shook their heads.

"At this stage the only plausible way to cure everyone would be to defeat R and strip him of his chaos powers. That would eliminate his chaos infection from everyone and turn them to normal," answered Kenny.

"So all we have to do is find the chaos kid and beat them," observed Max. "But…"

"We have no idea where he is," Mana finished for him.

That was when the sound of groans and footsteps came.

"Zombies, hide," whispered Viper and the group immediately ran over to a bunch of bushes and hid within it. They watched as a long line of zombies walked past and headed in the direction of the docks.

"Where are they all going?" Ninel questioned.

"I don't know," answered Max. "But I have a bad feeling about this." He then groaned in pain as his crest began to light up.

"What's happening?" inquired Mana as she placed her hand over Max's mouth to muffle his cries and not alert the zombies to their location.

"His crest is reacting to something," Viper whispered in reply.

At that moment a large green light emitted from the docks, the place all the zombies were swarming too.

"R must be there," confirmed Blaze.

"Then that's where we have to go," commented Max in a very serious tone.

* * *

><p>The gang stayed watching for a cluster of trees as the zombie army gathered in the shores of the beach.<p>

"What are they all doing here?" asked Ninel in confusion.

"I have no idea," answered Kenny.

That was when the ground began to rumble and shake and crack.

"Is this an earthquake!" panicked Max.

"Somehow I highly doubt it you idiot!" Mana retorted.

"Knock it off!" snapped Max in reply.

"It's a mountain!" interrupted Ninel as a large rock like mountain began to rise up from the ground and then stopped, also ending the miniature earthquake in the process. At the top stood R, now wearing the same clothing that V from V for Vendetta wore. It included a black suit and black boots along with a black cape. The only difference was that he did not wear a hat and wig but a hood along with his Guy Fawkes Mask.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen!" R introduced. "As you already know, I am R for Revolution! I have decided that the world needs a new form of justice! A new form of law and order! And the only way to do that is through chaos! You zombies are the first in a new breed of humanity! No one can stop us! Because I am but an idea, and ideas cannot be destroyed! A man, indeed he can be killed! A man is flesh and blood but an idea can be remembered and can live on forever!"

"This guys nuts," whispered Max to the rest of the group.

"But we have a problem!" R continued. "There are people hidden in the trees right now watching! They must become part of the revolution if we are to succeed! Now seize them!"

"Hiding never works does it," noted Viper, annoyed.

A large pile of zombies exited the bay and stepped onto the beach before charging towards the trees where the gang lay.

"I'll handle this!" cried Max as he stepped out of the bushes and activated his crest. He went to conjure an energy ball but fell to his knees and gripped his chest in pain.

"You idiot!" snapped Mana as she ran out with the rest of the group and formed a wall around Max. "You're too weak and injured to use your powers!"

"Is it really necessary to call me an idiot?" asked Max as he struggled to stand.

"Of course it is idiot," answered Mana jokingly.

"There's no way we can take all of them," noted Ninel.

"Blaze, Max," stated Mana. "You two climb the mountain and get R."

"What?" cried Max.

"You two are the strongest of us," Mana confessed. "So get moving before I change my mind!"

Max opened his mouth to protest again but Blaze interrupted.

"No time to argue!" she rebuffed as she grabbed Max by the arm and pulled him over to the mountain. "They'll hold them off for us!"

"Fine!" accepted Max as the two began to climb the mountain.

By this time, the zombie squad had surrounded Mana, Ninel and Viper. They were swarming in at them as well. Mana was sending punches and kicks every which way but it was hopeless. Finally a zombie successfully sunk their teeth into her thigh and she cried out in pain as she became a zombie.

Ninel, Kenny and Viper went not too long after. They twisted and squirmed as the zombies pinned them down before sinking their teeth in and completing the transformation.

"It's just us now," commented Blaze as they continued climbing the mountain knowing very well that Mana, Viper, Kenny and Ninel would never be able to fight off the whole zombie army.

"When we get up there I'm going to bash that prick!" growled Max.

Blaze briefly looked over her shoulder and gasped. The zombies had begun climbing up the mountain after them.

"Hurry!" shouted Blaze in warning and the two began climbing faster. But the zombies were hot on their heels. They came to a kind of small part of flat land and briefly rested.

"What now?" panicked Max. "They're way faster then us. They'll catch us."

Blaze thought for a moment and an idea struck her. "No they wont!" She reached for her belt and pulled out her launcher and attached her bey. She aimed it downwards and pulled her ripcord.

"Let It Rip!"

Phoenix shot downwards and immediately caught on fire. It smashed into a couple of zombies and knocked them from the mountain.

"Special Move!" roared Blaze. "Flame Tornado!"

Her bey leapt onto a rock and jumped up before spinning faster. From its spin track burst a flaming vortex that crashed into the remaining zombies and sent them flying before the tornado caused the lower part of the mountain to collapse, stopping anything else from getting up.

"Return!" cried Blaze as Phoenix flew back and landed in her hand.

Max gave her a thumbs up. "Nice," he commented. The two then began to climb again.

A couple of minutes later the two were at the top. Before climbing over they paused.

"The moment we see him get him," suggested Blaze.

Max nodded. "Got it."

The two pulled themselves over the edge and gasped. Two zombies were waiting for them. They both ran in and Blaze successfully flipped the zombie coming towards her over the edge and watched it fall.

The other zombie grabbed Max and tried to push him over the edge. Max grabbed the zombie and they both went over. Max was successful at grabbing onto the ledge but the zombie's combined weight was too much and the rocky edge slipped from his grip. He fell, losing the zombie in the process but Blaze reached out and caught him by the wrist.

Max sighed with relief and used his other hand to wipe some sweat from his face. "That was close," he commented as Blaze pulled him up.

She gasped as she saw two bite marks on Max's right arm. "Max…you're arm," she stuttered in shock.

Max glanced at it and screamed. "Shit! The bitch bit me!"

"That means you're going to become a zombie," Blaze inferred.

"Fuck," was all Max could say as his hand began to change. "No, I refuse to become a zombie!" he snapped and his crest glowed, fighting off the disease and causing the virus to stop spreading.

"I think I can hold it off for a bit," Max grimaced as he took hold of his infected wrist. "But not for long. We need to beat R and quick."

"I'll assume you're talking about me," R interrupted. Both Max and Blaze turned to face the masked man.

"You," Max growled in disdain.

"You seem upset to see me," laughed R in a mocking tone.

"What are you planning to do with all those zombies and who are really?" demanded Blaze, bunching ups her fists.

"First of all," explained R. "Those zombies are just the first step. Once I have every one on this island turned into zombies their souls will be used to boost my powers and then I'll harvest their corps to spread the virus throughout the whole ocean!"

"Say what!" answered Max, horrified.

"You heard me," grinned R from behind his mask. "I'll spread the virus through the ocean and it'll then infect anyone in the water and they'll spread the virus. Then the infected water will become vapour and go into the air, condense and become rain water. The infected rain water supply will then take affect and then everyone will be a zombie at the command of the Dark Lord, Nemesis' Heir."

"You fucker!" snarled Max, furious.

"And secondly," finished R as he removed his mask and hood. He was a boy with blond shaggy hairstyle in an undercut. He had tanned skin and bluish-grey eyes.

"Taylor," observed Blaze.

Taylor grinned. "I'd thought you'd all be happy to see me now that I've awoken since Morgan defeated me."

"I can't believe someone like you could be so evil on the inside," Blaze spat, disgusted.

Taylor shrugged. "What can I say," he replied. "You think you know a person and them BAM! They surprise you."

"And what's with the whole R thing?" questioned Blaze.

"Oh that," answered Taylor, still laughing. "That was an idea. Everyone would remember it and it would never be forgotten. A man of flesh and blood can be destroyed but a symbol, that can last forever."

Max and Blaze didn't respond this time around.

"But enough talking!" grinned Taylor as he ripped his launcher from his belt and held it at the ready. "Shall we dance?"

"Let's!" retorted Max as he reached for his launcher with his infected right hand. As he did, the virus spread just a little more and he feel to his knees.

"That's a nasty thing there you got crawling up your arm," taunted Taylor viciously.

"You're too weak to fight him Max," stated Blaze. "You need to hold that zombie virus off. Battling will be too hard for you." She stepped forward and pulled out her launcher. She then quickly attached Phoenix.

"Very well," snickered Taylor as he pulled out his Armor Quetzalcoatl. "Let the battle begin." He snickered as shadows began to coil around his bey, slowly transforming it. Its green energy ring became a dark emerald colour, its fusion wheel and spin track once silver was now a cold grey and its gold performance tip became bronze.

"Another darkly upgraded bey," noted Blaze.

Taylor nodded as he connected Quetzalcoatl to his launcher. "This is Revolution Quetzalcoatl!"

Max questioned, "Revolution?"

"Yes!" hissed Taylor. "Because I and Quetzalcoatl will be the ones to bring about a new world order!"

"Not if anything to say about if I have!" Blaze retorted as she aimed her launcher.

"Bring it!" rebuffed Taylor, his eyes widening. The three then watched as the top of the mountain began to shake and a large black arena rose from the ground for them to battle in.

The two bladers took their place while Max watched from the sidelines, still on one knee clutching his infected hand.

"Three!" cried Blaze.

"Two!" added Max.

"One!" finished Taylor.

"Let It Rip!"

Phoenix and Quetzalcoatl shot from their launchers and clashed mid air before being blown back and landing in the arena.

"Prepare to fall victim to the new world order!" laughed Taylor. "Quetzalcoatl prepare to…" he trailed off when he noticed Phoenix spinning in the center of the arena.

Blaze herself had her arms folded and a smirk planted on her face. "Something wrong?" she said casually yet in a taunting tone.

"Are you trying to lose," answered Taylor.

"Oh there's a reason I've got Phoenix sitting in the center of the arena," responded Blaze. "But you'll have to wait and see. It's a surprise."

"Oh goody I love surprises," Taylor spat back in a sarcastic tone. "But don't think you'll get the drop on me! Left spinning beys are uncommon but not so rare that one would never come past one nowadays."

"So you think you have a chance?" mused Blaze with a smirk.

'So Blaze is going for a wait and see approach,' noted Max in thought. 'For her sake I hope this works for her.'

"Well this will get boring since you're not doing anything," snorted Taylor. "So attack Quetzalcoatl! Special Move! Pile Driver!"

Quetzalcoatl spun around the arena at high speeds for charging in and slamming into Phoenix, knocking it way out and making it spin out of control.

"What?" cried Blaze, stunned.

"No way!" added Max.

"Did you really think I would be stupid enough to attack normally and let you figure out my strategy?" hissed Taylor. "Your defensive tactics won't work against me!"

"I can fight offensively if I have to!" Blaze replied angrily.

"I'm sorry but you can't decide not to fight and then fight!" rebuffed Taylor. "Quetzalcoatl! Special Move! Destiny Whip!"

Quetzalcoatl moved to the center of the arena and began to glow emerald. It shined bright before releasing an energy whip that took hold of Phoenix.

"Huh?" commented Max.

"What's going on?" added Blaze.

"You all know of Flame Byxis right?" snorted Taylor. "The bey that belonged to Team Star Breaker member Zeo Abyss during the Wolrd Championship?"

Max's eyes widened. "No way!"

"Tch…" groaned Blaze.

"That means I can take control of your bey and bend it to my will!" Taylor snarled devilishly.

Blaze laughed, catching Taylor off guard. "You idiot!" she declared. "My bey is left rotating remember, do you really think an attack like that will affect something spinning in the opposite direction?"

Max cheered as Phoenix escaped from the energy whip and spun around to face Quetzalcoatl.

"How do you like that?" stated Blaze as she folded her arms again.

"You really are thickheaded aren't you?" spat Taylor. "Did you actually believe I wouldn't be prepared for this?"

"Uh oh," mumbled Max under his breath.

"Quetzalcoatl! Elemental Transformation!" ordered Taylor as Quetzalcoatl began to spin very slowly and then leapt into the air just as the spin stopped altogether. Its spin track and energy ring shifted in the opposite direction and the bey began to spin again, this time in a left rotation. As it landed in the arena, it was no spinning at full velocity.

Blaze and Max's mouths were gaping open in shock.

"Holy shit," commented Max. "He just changed rotation in the middle of a battle."

"Crap," muttered Blaze.

"Let's try this again!" hissed Taylor, throwing his arm out. "Quetzalcoatl! Destiny Whip!"

Quetzalcoatl moved into the center of the arena and created an energy whip of emerald energy that snared Phoenix.

"Do something Blaze!" cried Max.

Blaze quickly tried to think up a plan, but nothing came to mind.

"Let destiny pick you up and take you away!" Taylor laughed as Quetzalcoatl began using the whip to spin Phoenix around and around.

"Darn it," cursed Blaze.

"What now Blaze?" Taylor snorted.

"If you think I'm going to lose like this then you have another thing coming buster!" retorted Blaze, throwing her arm out. "Special Move! Fire Tornado!"

Phoenix, despite being still snared by the energy whip, began to spin faster and created a ring of fire around itself. Soon, that expanded and a large fire tornado burst from the bey.

"Let's raise the bar shall we!" bellowed Blaze. "Bring them down Phoenix!"

The Fire Tornado spun forward and crushed the energy whip at its center, causing it to shatter into nothing and free Phoenix.

"Alright Blaze!" Max cheered.

"Quetzalcoatl is next!" declared Blaze as the tornado swiftly began to spin towards Taylor's bey.

"You think a tornado can beat me?" snickered Taylor.

"Why wouldn't it!" responded Blaze.

"Because I know how to counter every single one of your moves!" answered Taylor. "Fly Quetzalcoatl!"

Quetzalcoatl spun to the edge of the arena and then shot up into the air above the tornado.

"What are you doing?" asked Blaze.

"Winning this battle!" exclaimed Taylor. "Special Move! Pile Driver!"

Quetzalcoatl glowed emerald as it shot down and burst into the top of the tornado and began to absorb the flames.

"What the heck?" gasped Max.

'He's draining the tornado?' Blaze thought in confusion and shock.

Soon, the entire tornado had vanished and Quetzalcoatl landed, completely unharmed.

"Now it's time to see how much damage your attack can go when redirected," roared Taylor.

"You're going to redirect my attack?" questioned Blaze.

"You bet!" snarled Taylor. "Quetzalcoatl! Special Move! Full Force!"

Quetzalcoatl began to radiate red and shake uncontrollably. This in turn was shaking the whole mountaintop.

"This can't be good," noted Max before cringing in pain as the virus began to spread a little more.

"Take this!" Taylor screeched as a winged bronze serpent with sapphire eyes appeared and roared. Suddenly, it absorbed all the heat from Quetzalcoatl and turned into a fiery spirit.

"Oh man," noted Max.

"Burn them all!" commanded Taylor as the serpent flew forward and crashed into Phoenix, incinerating the bey.

Blaze cried out in pain then as the serpent flew into her and brunt her. She fell to her knees, clutching her burns in pain still screaming.

"Blaze, no!" shouted Max.

Taylor laughed, pleased with his work. "Maybe the big bad Blaze isn't as tough as she says she is?"

Blaze gritted her teeth and death starred her opponent. "You think I'm going down like this?" she sneered. "Never!" She stood up and prepared to continue.

"So you wish for more pain then?" snickered Taylor. "Very well! That can easily be arranged! Quetzalcoatl! Venom Fang Strike!"

The bronze and green bey shot forward and began to spin around Phoenix at high speeds. Apart of its energy ring came down and acted as a shield for the bey as well.

'That move will slow Phoenix down,' thought Max.

"Nice try!" cried Blaze. "Phoenix, uppercut!"

Phoenix timed this perfectly. It bent down slightly and then allowed Quetzalcoatl to move above it. Phoenix then moved up again, successfully flipping Quetzalcoatl into the air.

"Interesting!" noted Taylor. "But not good enough! Quetzalcoatl!"

Quetzalcoatl flew down and toppled Phoenix, sending sparks flying.

"No way!" cried Max. "Quetzalcoatl didn't take any damage from being uppercut!"

"That's because right now," explained Taylor. "Quetzalcoatl is unbeatable in this form! Those small sections that came over Quetzalcoatl takes all the attacks for it!"

Blaze groaned in frustration. "Move Phoenix!" she ordered and the bey managed to move out of the way allowing Quetzalcoatl to land back into the arena.

"You can run but you can't hide!" sneered Taylor. "Run Quetzalcoatl!"

The serpent bey shot forward and smashed into Phoenix, sending it flying away.

"Phoenix defend!" called out Blaze as the bey took a defensive stance.

"That won't work on Quetzalcoatl!" laughed Taylor as he threw his arm into the air. "Barrage Attack!"

Quetzalcoatl rushed forward and then spun around Phoenix and attacked it from behind, knocking it into the center of the arena.

"Now the fun begins!" hissed Taylor as Quetzalcoatl began gliding all over the arena at high speeds, smashing into Phoenix every now and then to stop it from regaining balance.

"Flame Tornado!" commanded Blaze as the fiery vortex shot up again and successfully smashed into Quetzalcoatl, knocking it off balance.

"Now it's my turn!" roared Blaze. "Mirage Attack Phoenix!"

The bey shot forward and smashed into Quetzalcoatl, knocking it away. Phoenix then came in again, knocking Quetzalcoatl back the way it came. This repeated for a bit, but the attacks didn't seem to be getting through.

"What's going on!" protested Max.

"Oh that!" laughed Taylor. "Quetzalcoatl is still in invincible mode! Usually it only lasts two minutes but thanks to my chaos upgrade as long as the armor stays on Quetzalcoatl it is invincible!"

"Then I'll have to pry that armor open!" retorted Blaze. "Go Phoenix!"

Taylor burst into laughter. "Do you seriously think it's that easy to break the armor off?"

"You bet I do!" answered Blaze as she threw her arm out. "Phoenix take him up for a ride!"

Phoenix moved right next to Quetzalcoatl and then exploded into flames and created the fire tornado all over again. This sudden blast sent Quetzalcoatl flying into the air.

'This has never worked before,' thought Blaze. 'So hopefully it does now.'

"Fly Phoenix!" ordered Blaze as her bey leapt up into the air and absorbed the tornado. "Torpedo Flare!" she declared as the tornado burst from underneath Phoenix and propelled it up, crashing into Quetzalcoatl and sending it flying high up into the air. In addition, the attack broke off the armor pieces on the bey.

"Sweet," noted Max, thoroughly impressed by the move.

"So close!" snarled Taylor. "But I have an ace up the sleeve also!" He threw his hand into the air and declared. "Special Move! Wing Smash!"

Quetzalcoatl came flying down at high speeds, leaving no time for Blaze to counter or think up a plan for defense. The bronze bey smashed right into the falling Phoenix, sending it crashing down into the arena with a bang!

"No!" shouted Max while Blaze groaned in anger.

"What now Blaze?" mocked Taylor.

Blaze scrunched up her fists and growled. "I won't fall on my knees against you. I won't be overpowered by someone like you!" She looked up at Taylor, the fire in her eyes still bright. "I refuse to lose! Phoenix!"

The red bey emerged from the smoking crater it had created and spun towards Quetzalcoatl.

"You're still going," noted Taylor. "Interesting."

"It's about to get a lot more interesting!" added Blaze.

"I'll fight you head on then!" answered Taylor. "Show them the new world Quetzalcoatl! Charge!"

The two beys launched themselves forward at full power and clashed, sending sparks flying all over.

"You cannot defeat me!" declared Taylor. "I am but an idea! And ideas cannot be destroyed!"

"We'll see about that!" snarled Blaze in reply. "Push harder Phoenix!"

Phoenix briefly moved forward before smash attacking Quetzalcoatl, knocking it back and sending out a small wave of fire that burnt it and continued on to Taylor, smacking him in the face.

He stumbled back startled and then gasped as his lip began to bleed. He wiped the blood away with his finger and looked at Blaze with pure disdain.

"How dare you hurt me!" he cursed at his foe. "I will crush you here and now!"

"Bring it!" challenged Blaze.

"Playtime's over!" roared Taylor as he exploded with dark green energy, which came up from his body and shot up into the air.

"I can sense a huge surge of chaos energies in his body!" warned Max to Blaze. "Look out!"

"Try surviving the revolution!" screamed Taylor as his eyes went black and his veins began to pop out of his body. The green energies from his body swirled around for a bit before merging into Quetzalcoatl. The sky went dark and flashed with green lightning.

'He's going for an attack,' thought Blaze. 'I'll have to attack now or I'm done for.'

"Phoenix!" she cried. "Special Move! Immortal Flame!"

Phoenix shone a bright red and shot a shining light into the sky that then exploded, raining fire down on Quetzalcoatl.

"You think such tactics will work on me?" screeched Taylor as the winged serpent appeared and turned into an energy blast the obliterated the flames.

"Say what!" panicked Blaze.

"CHAOS MOVE!" roared Taylor, throwing his arms into the air. "REVOLUTION BURST!"

A dark green lightning bolt struck Quetzalcoatl, releasing surges of green energy that swarmed around the field and enveloped it.

"I won't go down like this!" cried Blaze. "Phoenix rise up!"

From her bey emerged a red flaming bird wearing silver armor.

"That won't be enough!" screamed Taylor. "Destroy them Quetzalcoatl!"

The flaming bird shot forward and tried to push to where Quetzalcoatl lay, but the energy surges slashed and pushed it back.

"Now kill them!" ordered Taylor insanely as a large portion of energy became a ginormous version of the winged serpent that towered over everything.

"Oh fuck," was all Max could say while Blaze simply watched on in horror.

"DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" bellowed Taylor as the serpent came down onto the arena and became an energy explosion.

Blaze screamed in pain as her skin was burnt and attacked. Her insides burned and churned, she could feel her life being burnt away. She looked to her bey beast as it screeched in pain before shattering while her bey's pieces began to break off and it took a beating.

"NO!" cried Max in horror before some of the energy smacked into him, knocking him back and sending him flying. He landed hard and hit his head on a rock, knocking him out. Without him conscious, the virus began to seep into the rest of his body.

"I WON!" cheered Taylor devilishly to himself as he watched Blaze fall to the ground, beaten and broken. "I DID IT! I AM R FOR REVOLUTION! I AM UNBEATABLE!"

But suddenly Blaze stirred, still weak but she was successful at standing.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" protested Taylor.

"A phoenix is a being of immortality," she chanted as if almost in trance. "It passes through the afterlife and is reborn. It is like the sun. It sets and passes through before rising once again. A phoenix evolves through death. It rises stronger then ever."

"SHUT UP!" snapped Taylor furious. "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!"

"I will rise from the ashes stronger then ever!" shouted Blaze at full strength, releasing a golden light from her body that also shined from her bey. It began to regain balance and spun at full pace.

"I'LL KILL YOU AS MANY TIMES NEEDED!" Taylor roared. "CHOAS MOVE! REVOLUTION BURST!"

The large winged serpent appeared once again and prepared to attack.

But as it did, the flaming bird appeared once again, also glowing gold. The radiating light warded of the serpent.

"ORDER MOVE!" exclaimed Blaze as an order crest appeared on her chest and glowed. "FLAMING ASCENSION!"

The flaming bird transformed into a golden flaming spiral vortex that shot forward and blasted apart the serpent.

"NO I WON'T LOSE!" shouted Taylor. "KILL THEM QUETZALCOATL!"

Quetzalcoatl rushed forward while being enveloped in a burst of dark green energy.

Blaze pointed forward. "Incinerate them Phoenix!" she ordered as the spiral vortex covered her bey and it shot forward.

"PHOENIX!"

"QUETZALCOATL!"

The two attacks clashed head on, creating an explosion of light. Blaze stood there, allowing the explosion to blow her hair and clothes back while Taylor struggled against it.

"WHY WON"T YOU DIE?" he asked in anger.

"Because I believe!" retorted Blaze as her eyes glowed gold and Phoenix smashed through Quetzalcoatl, creating cracks all over it and pounding it into the arena with a mighty crash.

This created a second explosion that blasted away everything else. Blaze watched as Taylor fell to the ground screaming as blood leaked from his mouth, ears and nose.

She recalled Phoenix, looked at it for a moment and smiled at it before putting back onto her belt. She was still order empowered but still didn't seem to notice. She appeared to still be in a trance. When the order energies surged from her body she collapsed to the ground.

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued: Next Time – Eye of the Storm <strong>

**After the destruction from Taylor's attack, the outside world has been shut out by an ongoing storm. Now, the academy is on its own against any new evil. But when the storms suddenly get worse and kids start to disappear, the gang begins to investigate. They soon discover a chaos student has been mastering the powers of weather and is close to being able to use their powers all over the world! Deciding not to take any chances, the student captures Team Nova Flare, leaving Sierra and Mana to fight alone in… the eye of the storm! **

**Well what did you all think? I want to know! Did I get the battle right? Did I get Taylor's evil persona right? And what about Blaze using order power? Tell me all what you thought. And remember as always ****PRETTY PLEASE REVIEW BECAUSE I REALLY ALL WANT YOU TOO!**


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